The Marshall County Fiscal Court is committing up to $10,000 to secure entertainment for those effected by the Jan. 23 shooting that claimed the lives of two students.
At the March 7 court meeting, Judge Executive Kevin Neal said he had been contacted by area churches planning an event for students recovering from the at Marshall County High School. Neal said organizers are actively seeking entertainment for an event dubbed Hope and Healing on April 12, but asked for assistance from county coffers.
“They are trying to get in different entertainment — speakers, mainly — for the students out at the high school,” Neal said. “They’ve got a committee formed. This is something they’ve wanted to do for the community and the kids.”
Neal said in order to reserve bands, organizers need the county’s financial committment.
“I got a call last night that one of the main entertainment bands, Zach Williams, along with two other bands, had committed,” Neal said. “But in order to move forward with this project, the minimum request from that band and that organization is to have about 500 tickets purchased to cover their costs.”
Tickets for the Grammy-award winning Christian recording artist will cost $20 each. Neal asked the court to support the $10,000 cost, noting that victims of the shooting and their families would not be charged admission.
Magistrate Bob Gold motioned for the court to provide the minimum funding. The court approved funding for the event.
Support for students and the community has continued since the fatal shooting that claimed the lives of Bailey Holt and Preston Cope, both 15 years old. Last week, Marshall County Sheriff Kevin Byars and leaders of other communities effected by violence met with President Donald Trump to discuss possible solutions to school violence.
During court Tuesday, Byars said it was an honor to meet with the president and advocate on behalf of Marshall County.
“When I was given the opportunity to speak, I made mention [of] the Victims of Crime Act,” Byars said. “We’ve met with those folks, and there are federal dollars available through that. I made it known we would like some of those dollars this way to help secure our building, put more resource officers in there, and also look to the aspect of putting mental health professionals in the school system, because I think it’s a definite need.”