NOT one but two communities are grieving today as the family and friends of Stephanie Scott grapple with the news that a man has been charged with the young teacher’s murder.
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As the Central Western Daily went to press last night a cleaner at Leeton High School had been charged and Ms Scott’s car had been found, but her body had not.
In small towns, like Canowindra, where Ms Scott and her fiancee grew up, and Leeton where she taught, schools are the lifeblood of their communities.
Parents and their children make new friends, sporting teams are formed that last for years and young teachers like Ms Scott are welcomed into the social life of the town.
Like Ms Scott’s new school family in Leeton, the Canowindra community was looking forward to her wedding this weekend in nearby Eugowra.
Her fiance, her family and the two communities that had been touched by her life must now be dealing with a world turned upside down.
Someone they treasured is gone, a community they would have thought safe from violence has been shaken to the core and the comfortable certainties of life have been shattered.
When Ms Scott went missing on Sunday, just days before her wedding, the search for her whereabouts was rolled out on social media. Today Facebook pages and tributes on websites are illuminated with countless photos of candles lit in her memory.
The communities of Leeton and Canowindra will unite behind her loved ones and friends and when school resumes there will be support for teachers and students who will have to face the shocking truth all over again.
We can only pray the same closeness which makes her death painful for so many can bring support and strength to those who will so desperately need it.
