For many, shootings are a distant memory.

Byline: Anne Williams The Register-Guard

SPRINGFIELD - Ten years have passed at Thurston High School, and the class of 2008 - 10 years ago they were second-graders - tends to the giddy preparations for a high school graduation. For them, that terrible day was practically a lifetime ago.

In the days following then-freshman Kip Kinkel's 1998 shooting rampage, it seemed that horrific event would forever define Thurston High. Horror and grief seemed indelibly etched into the concrete walls and breezeways.

A decade later, time, turnover and the rhythm of routine have healed at least the most obvious wounds at Thurston - all that, and the support of a community and a nation.

"The outpouring of love we got, from Springfield High School, from the community, from Eugene, even from the rest of the country, was overwhelming," said English teacher Paul Halupa, who gave the commencement address at the 1998 graduation ceremony, just days after the shooting. "It took an awful lot of love and an awful lot of time to take us past the trauma of it."

As the chaos unfolded that morning, Halupa corralled students in his classroom and tried to piece together what was happening in the cafeteria across campus. Now he and others who were there then and are still there now say the same thing: Days go by when the tragedy doesn't even cross their minds. That includes those who saw the worst, who rushed to the aid of fallen teens they knew and loved.

"I've been on this campus so much since that day that its memory is crowded out by the more familiar aspects of Thurston High," said history teacher and wrestling coach Gary Bowden, one of the first teachers to arrive in the cafeteria that morning.

For many students, the event is simply too remote in their young minds to have much resonance. A few, such as seniors Kory Sturgess and Sammy Nasholm, remember visiting the chain-link fence in front of the school, where flowers, notes, teddy bears and crosses were left in the hours and days after the shooting.

"I didn't know what it was for," Nasholm said.

This year's seniors were 7 or 8 years old at the time and in a child's world, 10 years is an eon.

"You know, I've never had a kid ask me about it, after the first year or two," said social studies teacher Bill Smith, who heard shots that morning and ran to the cafeteria to find one of his son's best friends, Tony Case, gravely wounded. "Obviously it's a huge deal, a total shock, a life-changing event. But I'm not really sure these kids feel it at all."

Some do, of course. Among Thurston's 1,550 students are some with close ties to those who were there - including Kelsey Nickolauson, little brother of slain student Mikael Nickolauson, who will graduate in a couple of weeks. Student Ben Walker also was killed.

Senior Molly Salene's aunt was a childhood friend of Kip Kinkel's so she grew up steeped in the details of the tragedy. Teachers occasionally bring it up when it's relevant to a lesson, she said, but it's not a topic of discussion among kids.

"I just think it was too long ago, and people don't want to bring it back," she said.

Amber Richardson, a senior, moved to Springfield from Alaska in 2002. It wasn't until three years later, when she was walking by the campus memorial dedicated to the victims, that friends told her what had happened.

"I'd never heard about it," she said.

In the five years that Principal Ed Mendelssohn has been on campus, there's been no formal acknowledgement of the anniversary, he said, and it was difficult to decide how to commemorate the 10th. After talks with his staff, a plan coalesced: a moment of silence in the morning, an all-school, lunchtime barbecue in the courtyard and a midafternoon community gathering at the memorial, dedicated five years ago on the southwest edge of campus.

"We weren't going to ignore it," said Mendelssohn, who joined the staff as assistant principal in 2003 and became principal two years later. "At the same time, we wanted to be as sensitive as we could about remembering the day, and also, just as important, remembering the kind of campus we want to be and are today."

All the same, some would have preferred to let the day pass like any other. Bowden believes that anniversaries are arbitrary and meaningless, moments of silence well-intended, but empty gestures.

"I don't mean to denigrate the memory, but I don't want to go through it," said Bowden, who still has recurring nightmares about impending death. "It's burned into my psyche, it's something that will never leave, but that's where it belongs. The parents whose kids were taken, they'll never forget."

The only time Bowden brings it up at school is in his War and Terror class, when he talks about President Clinton.

"Bill Clinton was here on campus (after the shootings) and most of the kids don't even know about that," he said. "I think they know there was a shooting intellectually, but they don't know it emotionally."

Staff members who were there say they seldom discuss it among themselves, but emotions lie just beneath the surface for some.

"It's close to your heart, now more so than ever because of the 10 years," counselor Sharon Plueard said, her eyes welling up. "I saw some horrific things. We all saw some things we should never have seen."

Plueard fields the occasional call from parents of would-be students, usually people who are moving to the area and catch wind of the tragedy. "I tell them there's no reason to be concerned - that we have a safety committee, lock-down drills, that it's a safe and welcoming place," she said. "That's the only answer I can give them."

Four years ago, Thurston launched a "positive behavior" program it dubbed First Things First. The focus is positive reinforcement, Mendelssohn explained, and treating one another with kindness.

It may be paying dividends, he said. The number of behavior referrals - incidents that necessitate sending a student to the principal's office - have declined steadily each year, with 414 so far this year compared with 971 in 2003-04.

Mendelssohn hopes the school can pull off Wednesday's event "with grace," focusing on Thurston's many strengths.

"It's a part of this school, it's part of history, and you can't avoid it or pretend it didn't happen," he said. "If it inspires us to be better to each other, that's about the best thing that can happen."

CAMPUS UPDATES

The memorial: Since it was dedicated in 2003, district maintenance crews have taken care of upkeep. Spearheaded by parents of some of the shooting victims, community donations covered the $45,000 cost to build the memorial, which came together after several false starts and after debate about whether to include the names of Bill and Faith Kinkel.

The fence collection: All the salvageable cards, stuffed animals, ribbons and other items that collected at the fence in front of the school were boxed, labeled and stored at a warehouse adjacent to the Administration Center. Deputy Superintendent Steve Barrett, who retires in June, says he plans to go through the boxes before he leaves and discard items that are badly deteriorated.

The cafeteria: Repainted in the summer of 1998, it underwent extensive renovations this school year. The $150,000 project, which included new furniture and two new student lounges, was aimed at boosting participation in the school's lunch program.

Plans for complete fencing: Over the summer the district will add additional perimeter fencing and a card-swiping system to better secure the campus. The project is one of several Springfield School District security projects funded by a 2007 bond measure.

The class of e_SSRq98: Classmates will meet for a 10-year reunion Aug. 22-23 at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts in Eugene.

WEDNESDAY'S EVENTS

During the school day: Principal Ed Mendelssohn will lead the school in a moment of silence after classes start at 9:05 a.m. Students and staff will gather in the courtyard for a barbecue lunch under a banner reaffirming the school's commitment to be a safe and welcoming place.

After school: Community members will gather at 3:30 p.m. at the memorial at the southwest edge of campus on 58th Street for a brief wreath-laying ceremony.