Jupiter honors slain parkland victim
Garland writes name on mound when he pitches.
When Jupiter pitcher Jake Garland goes out to pitch, he writes Nick Dworet’s name on the mound.
One of the Miami Hurricanes commit’s friends swam with Dworet, who was killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on Feb. 14. When Jupiter students walked out of class this morning, Garland, a junior, went with them, carrying a sign with Dworet’s name on it.
“I feel that it’s the least I can do,” Garland said in a Twitter message after the walkout.
Students from schools around South Florida and across the country walked out of class Wednesday to protest gun violence one month after the mass shooting in Parkland left 17 people, including 14students, dead. Schools that held ceremo- nies or walkouts included Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Park Vista, Palm Beach Cen tral, Spanish River, Suncoast and more.
“It was just sad to think that Nick was a kid, just like me,” said Garland, who said he was walking to show respect for the victims and to protest gun laws. “But to see the 3,000-plus kids walk in memory of the 17 victims was really cool.”
Wednesday’s walkouts followed days of protest in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Many students, especially those in Boca Raton, the Palm Beach County city closest to Parkland, staged protests in the week that followed. West Boca Raton students drew national attention by walk- ing off school grounds and marching more than 10 miles to the Douglas campus.
This week’s protests kick off more action, as a national protest, calledthe March For
Our Lives, is scheduled for
March 24, and another walk- out is planned April 20, the
19th anniversary of the mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado.
“I’m glad that I can be a part of something so big,” Garland said, “and hopefully this gets the point across about gun laws.”
Oxbridge’s Wolfe coach of year: Oxbridge Academy girls basketball coach Tracy Wolfe earned a reward for leading her team to the Class 5A state title. Wolfe was voted the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 5A Coach of the Year, making her a finalist for the all-class award. She was the only Palm Beach County player or coach to earn one of the statewide awards Tuesday. Wolfe, in her third year as the ThunderWolves’ head coach, led the team to a 27-5 record. She is 65-22 in her career at Oxbridge. One of Wolfe’s star players, junior guard Alexa Zaph, was the runner-up for Class 5A Player of the Year. She finished behind Ocala-Trinity Catholic’s Sydney James.