[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 13821-13822]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            UMPQUA COMMUNITY COLLEGE SHOOTING ONE YEAR LATER

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Merkley and Senator 
Peters for their courtesy to speak for a few minutes.
  In a few days, it will be exactly 1 year since the tragic shooting 
that took nine innocent lives and left nine more injured at Umpqua 
Community College, outside of Roseburg, OR. Senator Merkley and I will 
be there in a few days. We understand that for the families and the 
friends of those lost or injured--the students, faculty, and staff--
this time is going to be a painful reminder of an extraordinarily 
difficult day.
  Senator Merkley and I are so proud of that community. We call it 
``UCC Strong.'' Yet we want to remember those individuals whose lives 
were ripped away that day and all in the community who have been 
suffering. Oregonians everywhere have had these victims and their 
families in their thoughts, and those thoughts are going to be 
uppermost throughout Oregon in the days ahead.
  Senator Merkley and I have spent a lot of time in Roseburg over the 
last few months. Folks there will tell you they do all they can to go 
forward, but the trauma doesn't really disappear. Whether it is a walk 
past Snyder Hall or the sight of a student running on campus, the 
painful memories just keep rushing back.
  As the school presses on, there are a lot of exciting developments on 
the campus. There is a new college president hard at work. The school 
just opened its doors to the new Bonnie J. Ford Health, Nursing, and 
Science Center, with state-of-the-art classrooms. Extraordinary 
resilience is being seen at UCC and Roseburg, but this is going to be a 
very difficult few days as we reflect on this horrendous shooting. Of 
course, the sad reality is that the shooting takes place on a long list 
of such shootings--horrible mass shootings targeting the innocent. 
Families and across the country scarred by the shootings share a 
sorrowful bond.
  I know that Roseburg and the movement we know as UCC Strong and the 
whole State of Oregon have come together over this last year to support 
the families, the victims, and those who were injured. Over the next 
few days, Senator Merkley and I are going to dedicate and redouble our 
efforts to do all that we possibly can to reach out again to folks in 
Roseburg and be supportive and do everything we can as Senators, 
honored to represent Oregon in the U.S. Senate, to prevent more 
shootings such as the horrible one that took place at UCC in Oregon.
  I yield the floor to my colleague Senator Merkley.
  I very much appreciate the chance to work with him and our delegation 
on this.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I join with my friend and colleague, 
Senator Wyden, to recognize the somber anniversary of the tragedy that 
struck our home State of Oregon a year ago. On October 1, 2015, the 
town of Roseburg was changed forever.
  Roseburg is a quiet, beautiful, small town, like so many others 
across our Nation. I spent part of my childhood in Roseburg. I was 
there as a toddler, in kindergarten and first grade. That is where I 
learned to swim, in the Umpqua River. It is a place where I find it 
hard to imagine anything terrible happening.
  Community members are so supportive of each other, but something 
terrible did happen that beautiful autumn day of October 1, when the 
lives of 9 Oregonians--students and teachers--at Umpqua Community 
College were tragically cut short by the actions of a crazed gunman. 
Nine incredible, innocent people were taken from us in the blink of an 
eye.
  I want to take a moment to share the names of those nine victims and 
to say a few words about each of them.
  There is 19-year-old Lucero Alcaraz, who was a freshman who had 
graduated from Roseburg High School. She wanted to become a pediatric 
nurse and to help care for the most vulnerable of our citizens.
  Quinn Cooper was a member of the Cow Creek Band of Indians who 
graduated with Lucero from Roseburg High School. That fateful October 
day was only his fourth day of college. He loved dancing and voice 
acting. He loved martial arts and was just a few days away from taking 
his brown belt test.
  Lucas Eibel graduated from Roseburg High School. Lucas was studying 
chemistry. He loved soccer. He loved animals. He spent his time out of 
school volunteering at the Wildlife Safari animal park, as well as at a 
local animal shelter.
  There is 20-year-old Treven Anspach. His parents called him the 
perfect son, who was, in their words, larger than life and brought out 
the best in those around him. He was a talented athlete who also loved 
working with the Douglas County Fire District.
  Kim Dietz loved the outdoors, her husband Eric, their daughter 
Shannon, and their two Great Pyrenees dogs. She would carpool with 
Shannon every morning and worked alongside her husband for many years 
as a caretaker at the Pyrenees Vineyards in Myrtle Creek.
  Jason Johnson. Jason had been facing substantial challenges, as so 
many others have, but he was proud to have taken control and turned his 
life

[[Page 13822]]

around. After completing a 6-month rehab program with the Salvation 
Army, Jason decided he wanted to go back to school and continue his 
education. Jason's mother said: ``He finally found his path.''
  Sarena Moore. Sarena came from my hometown of Myrtle Creek. She was 
in her third semester at UCC studying business. She was an active 
member of the Grants Pass Seventh-day Adventist Church and the proud 
mother of two adult sons.
  Lawrence Levine was an English professor at UCC who loved the blues, 
and he loved fly fishing. He was a quiet, laidback guy who loved 
teaching, but his true passion lay in writing novels, though tragically 
his life was cut short before he could publish his work.
  Rebecka Ann Carnes. She was my first cousin's great-granddaughter. 
She was an 18-year-old graduate of South Umpqua High School. She was an 
avid hunter and loved four-wheeling.
  Rebecka was a beautiful spirit. She was excited for college and 
excited to get out and explore the world. In a picture she posted 
online, you can see that she had written on her high school graduation 
cap, which she was holding in front of her, ``and so the adventure 
begins.'' She was ready for the adventure of a life to come, but it was 
an adventure that was cut short in a hail of bullets.
  Though the persistence of time may force us to move forward, we must 
never forget these beautiful members of the community or forget the 
tragedy that took their lives. Their families, the Roseburg community, 
the Douglas County community, and the entire State of Oregon continues 
to mourn their loss.
  There is an Irish saying which goes: ``Death leaves a heartache no 
one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.'' Our hearts 
continue to ache for these nine wonderful individuals who were taken 
from us far too soon. In the aftermath of this tragedy, the fabric of 
the Roseburg community and greater Douglas County community has only 
grown stronger. The community has rallied together through the UCC 
Strong Fund to support the families of those who died, to give aid to 
those who survived, to make Umpqua Community College an even greater 
asset to the community than it was a year ago, and to celebrate the 
lives of these nine men and women and ensure that their memories 
continue to live on.
  This Saturday, another autumn October 1, the community will come 
together and walk together to mourn, remember, and support the families 
of those lost, embrace and help heal those who were injured and those 
who were traumatized, and continue to rebuild the community. As they 
come together on Saturday morning, all of Oregon will come together 
with them by holding them in our thoughts, our hearts, our prayers, and 
mourning with them. We will be remembering, supporting, embracing them, 
and partnering with the amazing Umpqua Strong community.
  I thank the Presiding Officer.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.

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