THIS ARTICLE IS COMMENTARY AND PUBLISHED IN OUR EDITORIAL SECTION.
From Winston-Salem to West Virginia and back to the Page Valley, national and regional media cover stories of tragedy and a miracle
By Randy Arrington, publisher
LURAY — Over the past month, stories of tragedy and triumph have trickled into our inbox involving former residents now living elsewhere and one current resident living a miracle. These stories were picked up by some larger, even national, media outlets. While two of them may not necessarily be “local news”, they are of local interest.
The family members of David Housden who still live in Luray continue to scratch their heads about a murder-suicide reported a month ago in North Carolina, according to a Dec. 1 article published by Winston-Salem Magazine.
The article indicated that on Tuesday, Nov. 28, “Housden, 55, shot his son Alexander, 20, and his daughter Kaylee, 16, in the early morning before killing himself, according to police.”
Local family members who were interviewed by the publication stated confusion and “shock” over the incident, which they clearly believed involved mental health issues. They expressed a wish that he had reached out and gotten help before it reached this point.
Housden was said to be an honor student, who grew up in Luray and was interested in computers. He attended college in North Carolina and had been living there with his wife Jennifer the last 12 years. They had not visited Luray in some time and had minimal contact with family.
The article stated that: Andy Hagler, the executive director of the Mental Health Association of Forsyth County, said during a news conference [following the incident] that because those with mental illness may not want to seek care, people in the community should help others “get the care and access to services that they need to work to prevent this and other tragedies.”
Housden’s son, Alexander had been a quarterback at Atkins High School and was a junior majoring in exercise science, making all As, at Winston-Salem State University. The exercise science department issued its own statement calling him “one of the best students in the exercise science program.” HIs daughter was a member of the Atkins High School color guard, and was set to graduate in 2025.
Police have not given a motive in the shooting.
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About two weeks later…a former Shenandoah resident shot and killed his wife in the parking lot of a WVU Urgent Care in Spring Mills, W. Va., according to a Dec. 14 article published by Tracy Leicher on Newsbreak and a Dec. 12 article published by Metro News – “The Voice of West Virginia.”
Dennis Conley, 53, of Hedgesville (formerly of Shenandoah) has been charged with the murder of his wife, 49-year-old Jennifer Conley of Hedgesville, after allegedly shooting her on Monday, Dec. 11, according to the articles. At 8:41 a.m.on that Monday, officers with the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department were called to the scene and found Jennifer “unresponsive in the parking lot. She was pronounced dead at the scene,” according to the articles.
“A short time later, Martinsburg Police conducted a traffic stop involving the suspect, identified as the victim’s ex-husband Dennis Conley, 53. Police recovered a firearm during that stop,” the article states.
The articles state: Investigators say Conley had been making criminal threats toward the victim in the months preceding the shooting. He has been arraigned and is currently lodged in the Eastern Regional Jail without bond.
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On Christmas eve, Newsweek published an inspiring article about a local resident who was clinically dead for 24 minutes, and lived to write a book about the near-death experience and her new perspective on life.
Lauren Canaday, 39, endured a sudden cardiac arrest eight months ago in her home, after suffering a grand mal seizure due to her epilepsy, according to the Dec. 24 article. The loss of heart function and stoppage of blood flow, along with the seizure, halted her breathing and she lost consciousness.
“Quick thinking by her husband, who promptly dialed 911 and performed CPR for four minutes until emergency medical technicians (EMTs) arrived, played a crucial role in her survival. It took 24 minutes and four defibrillator shocks to restore her heartbeat,” the Newsweek article stated.
The article goes on to state that the oxygen Lauren received during CPR was crucial. “Without it, within one minute, brain cells begin to die, and by 10 minutes so many brain cells have died that a patient is unlikely to recover. At 15 minutes, recovery is virtually impossible, according to University of Michigan’s Transplant Center.,” the article states.
Once Lauren was treated, she tested positive for COVID-19, and her doctors believe the virus helped lead to her sudden cardiac arrest. She was discharged from the hospital nine days later, despite a survival rate of only 10 percent for out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrests. She was cleared by the hospital and suffered no brain damage.
Although she has left her job, Lauren released a book last month about her experience and her new take on life — Independence Ave: How Individualism Killed Me and Community Brought Me Back. The memoir talks about getting back to basics, re-evaluating priorities and learning to lean on others for help.
The article goes further to describe the details of Lauren’s new philosophy on life, as well as the specifics on her condition — and the medical facts highlighting how truly fortunate she was to survive the ordeal and remain functionally in tact. She also talks more about, although hazy, what she experienced during those 24 minutes when she was clinically dead. We recommend you read the full article.
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We share these stories under the heading of “local interest,” but we also share them to remind each of us that life is fickle, it can change on a dime, for better or for worse. Enjoy each day to its fullest, absorb each moment that is special and do not dwell on those “things we cannot change.”
We wish each of you a Happy New Year. May happiness and prosperity follow each of you in 2024.
Please share your thoughts in the “Comments” section below,
or you can reach the writer at publisher@pagevalleynews.com
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