[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 146 (Tuesday, October 6, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1436-E1437]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING THE VICTIMS OF THE UMPQUA COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRAGEDY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PETER A. DeFAZIO

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 6, 2015

  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I submit an article from Roseburg, Oregon's 
News-Review to honor and remember the lives of those who were taken too 
soon at Umpqua Community College on Thursday, October 1, 2015.
  I ask that all Americans pray for the friends and families of these 
nine victims as they grieve and rebuild from this tragedy.
  We must also keep in our thoughts and prayers those who were injured 
physically and emotionally by this event. It will take time and our 
support and patience as they grieve and recover.
  Roseburg is a strong and tight-knit community. I am heartened, and 
not surprised, by the acts of kindness and generosity in response to an 
unthinkable act. We call that ``UCC Strong,'' ``Roseburg Strong.'' It 
is this strong spirit that will carry everyone through this difficult 
time.

         [From the News-Review, Roseburg, Oregon, Oct. 2, 2015]

    Victims' Families: `Our Lives Have Been Shattered Beyond Repair'

       The victims who died in Thursday's Umpqua Community College 
     shooting were far more than a list of names. Five of the nine 
     people who died were under 21 years old.
       They were youth with bright futures, a teacher who loved 
     the river, older students getting a fresh start.
       Their families, friends and community are devastated by 
     their loss.


                             treven anspach

       Treven Anspach's close friend Danny Gil said Anspach loved 
     playing soccer and basketball, and he was good at it because 
     he was taller than everybody else. He also liked just hanging 
     out with friends.
       ``He always had a smile on his face, I don't know. He was 
     just like the type of guy that was always cheerful to be 
     around,'' Gil said.
       Gil was devastated when he heard from his roommate that a 
     mutual friend had seen Anspach get shot. He believes Anspach 
     was the victim who was brought to Mercy Medical Center and 
     died there.
       ``I wasn't ready to let him go. I just wasn't ready for it. 
     I just cry about it and talk to my friends about it and my 
     family,'' Gil said.
       Gil said Anspach had his whole life ahead of him.
       ``He was doing good in college. He had a girlfriend. He was 
     engaged, and he was ready for life to just begin,'' he said.
       In a statement, Anspach's family described him as ``one of 
     the most positive young men, always looking for the best in 
     life. Treven was larger than life and brought out the best in 
     those around him.''
       According to his parents, Anspach was ``a perfect son.''
       Anspach played basketball for the Sutherlin Bulldogs and at 
     UCC.
       Umpqua Riverhawks basketball coach Dan Leeworthy wrote on 
     Facebook that Anspach wanted to ``marry his high school 
     sweetheart, be a firefighter like his Dad, and to serve 
     others.''
       ``To me he was a friend and a coach's dream. He was a 
     friend to everyone,'' Leeworthy wrote.


                              larry levine

       Larry Levine was an assistant English professor at Umpqua 
     Community College. He was an avid fisherman, a member of the 
     Steamboaters fishing group and a former fly fishing guide.
       Levine was teaching an English class just before the 
     shooting, and it was his classroom the gunman entered when 
     the terror began.
       Friend and fellow Steamboater Dale Greenley remembered 
     Levine as an ``easygoing, kind of quiet, laid back'' man. 
     Greenley had known Levine since the 1970s. He said Levine did 
     whatever it took to stay by the river so he could keep on 
     fishing.
       ``He could have gone off somewhere and probably made good 
     money, but he loved the Umpqua and he stayed here and he 
     finally got that job at the UCC and that was really nice,'' 
     he said.
       Greenley doesn't have a television set, so he didn't know 
     about Levine's death until he was called by a reporter with a 
     national news outlet.
       ``That's when I found out. It was kind of a shock. I'm 
     still kind of processing it,'' he said.
       Greenley said Levine was fun to talk to. They shared 
     fishing stories together. Levine was a great writer who loved 
     to describe the North Umpqua River he loved, Greenley said.
       ``He was just part of the river,'' Greenley said. ``Larry 
     loved the river. He committed his life to it.''
       He was also popular with students.
       ``If you ever had any questions or problems or anything 
     else, he was Johnny-on-the-spot to help you out,'' said 
     Taylor Gunn, 21, of Myrtle Creek who took her first ever 
     community college class from Levine last spring.


                        kim dietz, 59, roseburg

       Kim Dietz was a strong and compassionate woman, whose love 
     of animals defined her, said Carolyn Whitehorn, Dietz's 
     mother-in-law.
       Dietz owned two Great Pyrenees dogs.
       Whitehorn recalled Dietz setting out to befriend a local 
     feral cat who was determined to stay wild.
       ``Feral cats are not easy to tame,'' she said through 
     tears. ``But she had him tamed in what seemed like no time at 
     all. She would sit outside when he was around and just talk 
     to him and offer him food until he came close enough to 
     pet.''
       Eventually, the cat became the family pet who lived with 
     Dietz for many years.
       ``She was such a strong and powerful woman,'' Whitehorn 
     said. ``She will be missed greatly.''


                       lucas eibel, 18, roseburg

       Lucas Eibel's family said they have been ``trying to figure 
     out how to tell everyone how amazing Lucas was, but that 
     would take 18 years.''
       Eibel was an FFA member and a volunteer with Wildlife 
     Safari and Saving Grace. He was a Ford Family Foundation 
     scholarship recipient and was studying chemistry.
       He and three of his siblings were quadruplets. They were 
     nicknamed The Quad by their friends at Roseburg High School.
       In 2014, Lucas Eibel told News-Review reporter Kate 
     Stringer it's ``always funny to see people's reactions'' when 
     they find out the four are fraternal quadruplets.
       Eibel was studying chemistry in his first year at UCC. It 
     was his favorite subject in high school.
       The family has asked that donations be given to Roseburg 
     High School FFA and to the injured victims.


                    quinn glen cooper, 18, roseburg

       Quinn Glen Cooper was in his fourth day of college.
       ``We are shocked this has happened,'' his family's 
     statement said.
       Cooper was funny, smart and compassionate. He was the kind 
     of guy who stood up

[[Page E1437]]

     for other people, according to family members. He was going 
     to take his brown-belt test in karate next week.
       ``I don't know how we're going to move forward with our 
     lives without Quinn. Our lives have been shattered beyond 
     repair,'' the family statement said.
       ``I can't actually believe you are gone,'' wrote Cooper's 
     friend Andrew Phillips on Facebook. ``You always made me 
     laugh and we always finished each other's sentences.''
       Former classmate Luke Counsell wrote on Facebook about a 
     time that Cooper was the only one to follow him to the 
     changing room to comfort him when he broke down while 
     rehearsing for a play.
       ``He wasn't just a `friend,' he was a brother,'' Counsell 
     wrote.


                  rebecka ann carnes, 18, myrtle creek

       Rebecka Carnes had just started both a new job and her 
     college career, according to her cousin Lisa Crawford. She 
     was studying for a job in a health care field.
       ``She had people in her life that loved her fiercely and 
     are devastated,'' Crawford wrote on Facebook.
       Carnes was a relative of U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley--his 
     cousin's great-granddaughter.
       Merkley called Carnes a ``beautiful spirit,'' according to 
     The Oregonian.
       She graduated South Umpqua High School in June. She played 
     softball.
       Kristy Westbrooks, an English teacher said, ``Going to UCC 
     was always her plan A she worked really hard to earn 
     scholarships last year.''
       ``Everybody said she was a sweet person and very well 
     thought of,'' said Jim Howard, superintendent of the South 
     Umpqua School District.


                      lucero alcaraz, 19, roseburg

       Lucero Alcaraz was in the UCC Scholars program and studying 
     to become a pediatric nurse. Friends called her beautiful and 
     kind-hearted.
       Friend Brittany Eggers said Alcaraz was a talented artist 
     and a great person.
       ``She was probably the sweetest person I know, probably the 
     most genuine too,'' Eggers said. ``She never once said 
     anything bad about anybody.''
       Eggers said she is confused and angry about what happened 
     to her friend.
       ``I just don't understand,'' she said.
       Alcaraz's sister Maria Alcaraz, heartbroken, wrote on 
     Facebook that she never got the chance to tell her how proud 
     she was of her accomplishments.
       ``You were going to do great things love,'' she wrote.


                       jason johnson, 33, winston

       Jason Johnson spent the last few months of his life 
     fighting.
       A part of The Salvation Army's rehabilitation program to 
     battle addiction, Johnson went from being beat up and 
     physically ill to being a role model, said close friend Chuck 
     Bellinger, who described their friendship as a brotherhood.
       ``He was always right there,'' said Bellinger who was in 
     the program along with Johnson. ``His room was right next to 
     mine and every night I'd go to bed and before that boy would 
     get into his bed, he'd come pop my door open and tell me good 
     night and that he loved me.
       ``We have to carry the torch. His torch is a bright one and 
     probably very difficult to go on with,'' he said.
       But Bellinger said that Johnson's death was not in vain.
       ``Our brother was following his dream and sobered up and 
     was becoming a productive member of society,'' he said. ``He 
     died a sober and upright man--a dude that was loving his 
     family and an example for everyone.''
       He was attending UCC and his family said Johnson had found 
     the right path and they were proud of him for enrolling in 
     school.


                  sarena dawn moore, 44, myrtle creek

       Sarena Moore was a Seventh-Day Adventist who loved animals, 
     according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
       According to the online Adventist magazine Spectrum, Moore 
     was a firm believer of prayer, a single mother with few 
     possessions but a big heart. She attended Reno High School 
     and had recently moved to Myrtle Creek from Grants Pass to 
     attend UCC.
       Her pictures on Facebook are of dogs and horses, suggesting 
     she was an animal lover.

                          ____________________