It was almost a year ago that we became all too familiar with the Kuhn Hospital.

It was almost a year ago that we were first introduced to one Rafael McCloud.

And, it was almost a year ago that we saw a loving life snatched from our community when Sharen Wilson was murdered.

For many, the wounds opened during that horrific tragedy — a senseless attack and murder — will never heal. For others, the wounds have simply been bandaged.

For me, it remains one of the most horrific and bone-rattling crimes I have ever had a hand in covering.

I remember writing a column shortly after Wilson was killed, laid to rest and her suspected killer, McCloud, captured by authorities. In it, I talked about how personal those of us at the newspaper took the coverage of the crime. How we were not objective journalists, because it was our community, our Vicksburg that was hurting.

Wilson was a beloved woman and we worked hard to make sure we shared the stories of her friends, her loved ones and tried to offer comfort to many in the way in which we covered the murder.

Her murder led us to call for the city to once and for all tear down the former Kuhn Hospital, the building in which Wilson’s body was found.

Now, almost a year later, elected leaders continue to work through bureaucratic red tape and pitfalls to have the building torn down. Sadly, today, it still stands and is a constant reminder of what happened there last June.

McCloud never stood for the crime that he was suspected of doing, rather broke out of jail in March and led authorities on a nearly weeklong manhunt around the county before being shot and killed by a family he had taken hostage.

For many, his death — although horribly traumatic for the family he had terrorized — was a fitting end for the suspected murderer.

The anniversary of Sharen Wilson’s murder is not one that has been circled on a calendar; instead it is one that I am sure many would like to never recognize.

But, it is important for us to again remember her, celebrate her life and the impact she made on so many.

It is impossible for us to know how God will use or is using this tragedy for our good and for his glory, but we have faith knowing that he will. That is a comfort that we must cling to.

It is also important that we continue to work, fight and push our leaders to make sure the Kuhn is not around for the second anniversary of Wilson’s murder.

 

Tim Reeves is publisher of The Vicksburg Post. You may reach him at tim.reeves@vicksburgpost.com. Readers are invited to submit their opinions for publication.