What a Week - A Very Sad Week!

Finally back in the office and in Clear Lake after three weeks of ministry in and out of town. My desk was buried in mail and paperwork, it took half a day to get in front of that paper slide and try to get back into the swing of things!

Then Tuesday morning there was a car accident and by Wednesday, tragedy struck a Clear Lake family:

Article #1:

CLEAR LAKE TEEN DIES OF ACCIDENT INJURIES

CLEAR LAKE — A Clear Lake teen-ager died this morning from injuries she received in single-vehicle accident Monday morning.

Hannah Hall, 17, was driving east on 285th Street near the intersection with Dogwood Avenue when she lost control of her car, according to the Iowa State Patrol.

The car went into a ditch and rolled over. Hall was thrown from the vehicle.

The accident occurred at about 9 a.m. Monday.

Article #2

CLEAR LAKE TEEN REMEMBERED AS "GOOD KID"

By KRISTIN BUEHNER,

#video,#audio,#slideshow{display:none;float:left;margin-right:10px;} #img-breakout_box{float:right;width:250px;display:none;} #img-breakout_box{display:block;} A memorial was started Tuesday afternoon along 285th Street, just east of Dogwood Avenue at the scene of a single-vehicle accident that claimed the life of Hannah Hall, 17. Hall died Tuesday from injuries she received in the Monday morning accident. JEFF HEINZ/The Globe Gazette.

CLEAR LAKE — Hannah Hall set out from her home Monday morning heading for her job at We Care Chiropractic on Highway 18.

A quarter-mile from her house, the 17-year-old Ventura senior lost control of her Pontiac Grand Am, according to the Iowa State Patrol. She was thrown from the vehicle when it entered the ditch.

The daughter of Mike and Becky Hall, she died Tuesday at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa.

“She was a good kid,” an emotional Dan Versteeg, Ventura school superintendent, said Tuesday. “She’s just a girl who had good friends, was a good friend, was involved in activities. It’s not fair, it’s not right and it never will be.

“We mourn with her family; we mourn with her friends,” he said.

Hall was driving east on 285th Street near the intersection with Dogwood Avenue when the accident occurred, the Iowa State Patrol reported. She was not wearing a seat belt.

“We are shocked,” said Whitney Luscombe, 17, a classmate and friend.

Luscombe had last seen Hall on Sunday when they and three other friends drove to Adventureland in Altoona.

“She was bubbly and friendly, always happy,” said Luscombe, a friend of Hall since second grade. “She liked to talk on the phone and text and shop and hang out with friends and go to the movies.”

In school, Hall played basketball and volleyball in previous years and was currently a member of the choir, Luscombe said.

Ventura High School Principal Rob Cassidy said Hall was “a great student” and on the school honor roll.

“Hannah was just the type of person that walked into the room and brightened everything,” he said. “It’s going to be tough for everyone, students and staff.”

He said counselors were available at the school Tuesday and would probably be at the visitation and funeral as well for anyone needing help dealing with her death.

“I think it’s going to take a while before it sinks in,” he said.

Pastor Steve's Thoughts:

Once again we are confronted with the reality that life is so very fragile. Hannah was the same age and a classmate of Susan's. They ran track together. Hannah was a very sweet young lady. Our hearts and prayers go out to this family at this time of pain and trial. May God bless and comfort this family and community.