CANDLELIGHT VIGIL REMEMBERS COVINGTON TEEN BULLIED AT SCHOOL, ONLINE

by Michael Monks

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Candles surround a cross with a photo of Sam Denham, 13,
a Woodland student who killed himself Friday

"I don't know why this happened to my family, we may never know," said Dan Denham, the older brother of Sam Denham, a 13-year old Woodland Middle School student who killed himself Friday afternoon. A candlelight vigil was held Monday night at Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Taylor Mill. The ceremony brought out more than one-hundred people, most of them students from Woodland and Scott High School, to remember a young man who is said to have suffered bullying in the form of teasing both at school and online.

Mourners attend a vigil at St. Patrick

"Sam always tried to be a better person and he got that from our mom and dad," Dan Denham said. The boys' parents were comforted from their seats in the front of the church. Their mother, Carol Denham also spoke before the crowd, sharing stories of a loving young man who had a history of engaging other children who may seem aloof or without friends. "He always came to us for everything," she said. "This was not our child, it's like something snuck in and took him away."

The rise in national attention to the issue of bullying in schools is not lost on Kentucky. Ironically, it is currently Safe Schools Week in the state, as sponsored by the Kentucky Center for School Safety based at Eastern Kentucky University. A major focus of that organization is the new forum for bullying, the internet, which Sam's family says played a role in the teen's tales of abuse.

At Monday night's vigil, literature was shared with the attendees that instructed on how to handle bullying including an anti-bullying pledge that was signed by students and parents.

By signing this pledge, we the students of Woodland and Scott agree:

1) Value student differences & treat others with respect

2) Not become involved in bullying incidents of be a bully

3) Be aware of the school's policies & support system with regard to bullying

4) Report honestly & immediately ALL incidents of bullying to a faculty member

Some notes writted by students in attendance were read aloud to the crowd:

The boys and girls that made you do this were mean.

Another:

Sam is safe now. His sad thoughts are gone.

Another:

I'm going to be more gentle, patient and kind.

"We knew he was a good kid. He tried his best to help other kids be good," Carol Denham said of her son. "Get your kids to talk. Kids, talk to parents. If you see (bullying) going on, get someone to stop it."

Candles are lit at the altar

Visitation for Sam Denham will be Friday from 3 - 7:00PM at Chambers & Grubbs Funeral Home in Independence with a funeral service following. Internment at Floral Hills Cemetery in Taylor Mill, across from the school Sam attended, will be Saturday at 11:00AM.