A Stone’s Throw: Day One After

  I drove into Uvalde today, after a night of thunder and heavy (thankfully) rain. Lines were long into fast food places while law enforcement and news reporters jousted for who had the most representation in our community’s stunned midst. I watched a live press conference descend into egos and political gain fed by headline opportunist journalists. 

  I wasn’t sure how it would be when I showed up at the El Progreso Memorial Library where I write grants. But as I hugged my coworkers, tears sprang forth as they told their stories: 

  Max the groundskeeper lost his niece Ellie, daughter of Steven Garcia and Jennifer Lugo. 

  Ellie was also the cousin of Nathan our Archivist Clerk.  Nathan lost another cousin too, Rojelio Torres.

  Lucy who has been at the Library 47 years said her husband’s best friend lost a grandchild. Her daughter’s coworker at Dalton Elementary, lost a child, McKenna Elrod. 

Maria our used bookstore cashier said her daughter in law, who is handling our closing for our home sale, lost her niece. 

  I eventually lost count of all the losses.

  Later I swung near Robb Elementary as I headed home. It was out of my way, but I had to see it. Something about seeing the school, even from a distance bc the streets were blocked, made it real. Really REAL. One thing to see on TV. Another in brick and mortar surrounded by an overwhelming number of LEO authorities and TV news crews. 

  Help, more offers of help, donations, and prayers are streaming in. People are begging to help us. Literally! The Library fielded calls all day!  May 29th President Biden is supposed to tour the school. 

  But I can assure you that our hearts and minds are turning inward as our grief grows every second. The noise of the world is dull in our ears and our eyes cannot see through the tears.  What we want is May 23rd back, the day before our lives turned upside down.  We lost children (our very hearts), our innocence, our independence, our isolation from the world at large, and are thrown as a morsel into the mouths of lions who seek to devour us for their own political agendas and profit. Pray for us. Pray hard. Pray really really hard.

#UvaldeStrong

  Irene Stone (the K stands for Karolyn) was born and raised in Uvalde.  Her parents were Herman “Bubba” and Karolyn Carlisle.  Her dad’s family ran Carlisle and Carlisle Construction, and her mother’s father, Cecil Reagan, owned the Reagan Ranch in Knippa.  In 1978, Irene graduated from Uvalde High School and went off to WTSU in Canyon, Texas, where she met her husband, Steve. Three children and twelve years later, Irene graduated from UTSA in 1990 with a BA in English and a teaching degree. 

  Steve and Irene moved to Bandera in 1991, where Irene taught English at Bandera High School until she transitioned into the world of nonprofit in 1995 by serving as the Executive Assistant to the CEO at Medina Children’s Home.  She worked in municipal government and public utilities as the Executive Assistant to the Kerrville City Manager and the General Manager/CEO of Kerrville Public Utilities Board.  In 2010, Irene moved into management by becoming the Executive Director of the Arthur Nagel Community Clinic in Bandera, a free community clinic.  Under her leadership, the clinic was awarded the Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year in 2012 and the RiskBusters Program received the Texas Rural Health Association 2012 Award for Outstanding Program. In 2014, Irene became Vice President of Development at the clinic, and then later Grant Manager and Data Administrator at Hill Country Daily Bread Ministries in Boerne, where she specialized in fundraising, donor development, and grant writing. She is also a licensed real estate agent.

  In September 2017, Stone returned to her Uvalde roots to help her husband with the family ranch, which is near Sabinal. After 28 years in nonprofit, Irene helps local nonprofits through Stone Nonprofit Consulting while Steve manages their real estate company, Stone Land & Cattle Co.  Irene’s current job, after a stint as the Executive Assistant to the President and CEO at First State Bank of Uvalde, is part-time grant writer for the El Progreso Memorial Library.  A firm believer in community involvement, Irene served on various Nonprofit Boards in Bandera and was nominated for Bandera Citizen of the Year twice.  Currently, she is past President and Secretary/Treasurer of the Sabinal Chamber of Commerce and manages her Facebook page, Surprisingly Sabinal. 

  Marking their 43rd Anniversary this year, Steve and Irene have a daughter, Somer, a lawyer, who is married to Randy Adkins – they are parents of her granddaughter, River, who is six years old.  Irene also has twin sons Matthew, a retired career Navy man, and Tye, a local musician and guitar instructor, who is married to Leeza Henderson – they are expecting their first child, a boy, on September 1. The Stone’s attend the Getty Street Church of Christ in Uvalde and recently built a new home, Stone Ridge, on the family ranch.