Homecoming at Bedford High School is always supposed to be a special time, but this year’s night ended in fear.
Police surrounded the school Saturday night after the district said a threat was fabricated by a student. Officials explained the student confessed to making up a story that another student was coming to harm kids at the dance.
“I was thinking how can we turn this around,” Shanda Diehl, a 2005 Bedford High School graduate, said. “This is so important to turn this around.”
Diehl was there as kids ran from the dance that night. It was emotional to watch so she wanted to channel that emotion into action and wrote a post on Facebook.
“My last paragraph said that what I would love to see is a community coming together to reschedule the dance,” she explained. “If it took an army of us to stand outside and make those babies feel safe, then I feel like that’s what we need to do.”
Shares, likes and comments started to pour in. That’s when Diehl decided to send a message to the superintendent. He eventually gives the green light for a new dance.
People continued to reach out and offer donations, to print out free flyers and even fix hair and makeup.
“It’s like taking the pieces of the puzzle that have been shattered Saturday night and trying to put them back together,” Diehl told us.
The event shook an entire community, but also brought everyone together to turn a negative night into a positive.
“The danger is very real out here in the world,” Diehl said. “However, goodness will always prevail. We just need to make sure we’re taking actions to get there.”
The school district plans to meet with student leaders by the end of this week about a new dance. They’ll then be reaching out to the community for help.