Read the full story. Where are the students? Headed to Texas - Hobbs News Sun Kooper Davis Obituary - Tribute Archive Students were attending five days a week, without the hassle of hybrid schedules used in much of the country. I chatted with some of Koopers teammates, asking them how they were handling remote learning. Her grandfather recently died of COVID-19. Heather came to the stage with Koopers sisters. He didnt text you or put it on Snap. The hope was that all this would be temporary. I reached Justin Davis on the phone that Saturday, after learning of Koopers death from a mother in northwestern New Mexico whose daughter had also struggled with the absence of school and sports. From the citys eastern edge to the Texas line is barely more than two miles. Its crazy to think that just down the road, theyre playing a football season theyre almost done with their football season. He was an amazing big brother and had very close relationships with his younger siblings. Kooper was born in Hobbs NM on August 9, 2003 and spent his childhood in Lovington before moving to Hobbs with his family, Father Justin Davis, Mother Heather Davis and his younger siblings, where he was an honors student, athlete and student leader. From Hobbs to the Texas towns of Seminole and Denver City is a half-hour drive next door, by the standards of the vast Southwestern plains. He was an amazing big brother and had very close relationships with his younger siblings. And unfortunately the Davis family is not alone even in Hobbs, New Mexico. New Mexico as a whole had lost 3,145 people, two-hundredths of a percentage point higher than Texas in per capita terms. Shivering in the parking lot, Fuller told me about Landon, who had just wanted to be everyones friend. He was the sort, she said, who always went over to any kid sitting by themselves on the playground. Kooper Davis had always thrived in school. This didnt keep many large urban districts in the state from starting the school year with remote learning. This has posed a conundrum from early in the pandemic: How much should children be prevented from doing outside the home, to keep them from contributing to community transmission of a highly contagious virus? And these were the grades that colleges were going to be looking at. He was a kid who had everything, and this is where were at, said Justin. Find service information, send flowers, and leave memories and thoughts in the Guestbook for your loved one. He had won over his ninth-grade English teacher, Jennifer Espinoza, with his willingness to engage on the works they were reading: The Outsiders, Romeo and Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird., He was very opinionated about why a character did this, or whatever something meant, Espinoza said. A simple Google search will bring up plenty of others. In New Mexico, mental health experts say, the factors also include high rates of depression on Native American reservations, and rural isolation in general. A group of students from Hobbs, including Kooper, held a rally at the football stadium to call for the reopening of school. Menu penelope loyalty quotes. But there was an implicit agreement that we were fortunate that our kids could keep playing, and we wouldnt do anything to screw it up. His teammates would be allowed to practice only in small pods, which left them mostly doing just weightlifting sessions and agility drills. My family was among those facing these decisions. The team in Seminole, 20 miles south, needed to cancel some games as the result of player quarantines, but Denver City managed to get through the fall without any cancellations, though there were some weeks where the roster got thin. I was there to meet with Coach Stevens, who had also been wracking his mind trying to think of clues he hadnt picked up from Kooper. All Rights Reserved. More than just scholastic considerations were driving this. This confounded Hobbs school officials, especially because they could see open schools across the border in Texas. I want him to come in from football practice and tell me how practice went. You cant sell our material separately or syndicate it. There were many kids in the audience, and some were wearing raspberry-colored shirts with Kooper 10 written on them. On Friday nights, high schools still played football, with fans in the stands. More resources had belatedly started pouring into the state: a $10 million federal grant for school-based mental health services, plus $500,000 in CARES Act funds. Your email will not be used for any other purpose. Schools in New Mexico partially reopened in February, after being mostly closed for nearly a year. One thing that maybe our decision makers dont remember is that when youre in high school or youre a kid, thinking youre the only one dealing with something. So honestly when do we stand up for our kids?? In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations in memory of Kooper to be made to Christian Center Church. But it was still hard. As the hot Southwestern summer dragged on, Kooper Davis and his teammates placed faith in that possibility. Its hard to imagine the pain this family is dealing with and the questions about what they might have done differently that will probably be with them for the rest of their lives. He could think of nothing, other than the fact that he had noticed that one of Koopers grades had slipped below his norm. But New Mexico schools and team sports didnt start up in the fall thanks to strict state regulations: After initially barring any schools from reopening in August, the state released gating criteria for districts that wanted to resume in-person instruction in the fall. The CDC has also recorded about 2,000 cases of an inflammatory syndrome that has afflicted some children after they contracted the virus, resulting in about 30 additional deaths. Finally, the nationwide surge in gun violence since the start of the pandemic has included, in many cities, a sharp rise in crimes involving juveniles, including many killed or arrested during what would normally be school time. A state-mandated lockdown of high schools and sports had a tragic If you use canonical metadata, please use the ProPublica URL. The Lost Year: What the pandemic cost teenagers She had swung the other way on reopening. Stringent guidelines for reopening schools in New Mexico meant students in Hobbs have experienced the pandemic differently than students across the border in Texas. Well, were introducing them to a new society here, and theyre rejecting it.. All weve been doing is trying to sell hope and belief to these kids that its going to happen, but at some point, theyre going to quit believing in you.. The story takes place in Hobbs, New Mexico, a small city that sits right up against the border with Texas. Davis, who lives in Hobbs, New Mexico, says she lost her son to suicide just weeks after. The boys respective high school and rec-league baseball seasons were canceled last spring, but their club teams were still playing through the summer and fall. Enter Few people were wearing face masks. These funds will go to future scholarship funds, football boosters and basketball boosters. The adults encouraged the players to speak about what they were feeling, not to hold things in. On Friday nights, high schools still played football, with fans in the stands. Koopers friend Zailor Lopez has noticed a change in her friends: I feel like the pandemic has kind of brought on a lot of anxiety for us kids.. She had been writing and calling elected officials and state bureaucrats and finally, with the help of the local state senator, Gay Kernan, had gotten the state to provide some training for local teachers in recognizing youth mental health troubles. Its crazy to think that just down the road, theyre playing a football season theyre almost done with their football season. The next morning, Dec. 7, Kooper went to his Monday weightlifting session. Malena Moreno and her boyfriend, Pedro Gavin Garcia, were friends of Koopers from Lovington, New Mexico, where Kooper lived until he was 12. Lt. If you like our stories, mind sharing this with a friend? Whatever it takes, said Rick Martinez, the principal. Its taken a lot of time and effort, but our kids are getting instruction face to face.. When Kooper was the only boy at Hobbs to make the Junior National Honors Society alongside 20 girls, Espinoza asked him if it felt weird. The football coach, Ken Stevens, could sense the morale plunging. United States v. Davis | Supreme Court Bulletin | US Law | LII / Legal Its baffling to us to figure out why he didnt come to us., Suicide is ultimately an unfathomable act, but Justin said he was sure of one thing. This is, after all, the region that produced Friday Night Lights.. On the way out of the athletic building, Kooper swung by to see the basketball coach, Eddy Martinez, to tell him he thought he might be able to play with that team, too, if the schedule that the state had floated the previous week actually came to pass: a truncated football season in February, followed by a truncated basketball season. Share a memory of Kooper Davis. She began by reading some lines Kooper had written in his journal, including his paraphrase of a verse of Scripture, If your enemy is hurting give him food. Please contact. Kooper Davis Student at Carson-Newman College Selmer, Tennessee, United States. Kooper already had a highlight reel, and it included some nice-looking throws, but it was from his sophomore season on the junior varsity team. hanging on y ligaments But Heather and Justin had just had newborn twins. Or to put it more broadly: How much of normal youth should they be asked to sacrifice? Since Im a junior, college is starting to cross my mind, and without this essential year of learning, I feel completely unprepared for college. Hobbs High School Hobbs, NM Football. Kooper Davis's Obituary (2003 - 2020) - Hobbs, NM - Legacy.com There are the frequent memorials of another sort, to the victims of vehicle accidents. 866-495-5172. Kooper procrastinated, as usual, but now also found it harder to focus when deadlines hit. And now, after the death of a boy that many of them saw as linked to those restrictions, they were effectively, saying, screw it. It was startling to pull into the high school parking lot and see dozens of teenagers strolling out of the school building, wearing masks and carrying backpacks, on their way to lunch. You can send your sympathy in the guestbook provided and share it with the family. After being in Denver City, things seemed emptier than ever at the Hobbs high school complex in normal times, the center of communal life in Hobbs. And one weekend late afternoon in November, when it was below 30 degrees out, two dozen boys went to school to play touch football, the closest they had come to having a game. And Im willing to keep my teammate and classmates in line, minding whatever rules, just so I can be back here doing the stuff I love., Mental health experts struggle to identify a precedent for the challenge this pandemic is producing for many Americans. On Sunday mornings, Kooper would be back at the church for his youth-group service and to help lead sessions for the younger kids. But thats me being selfish. If you or someone you know needs help, here are a few resources: Alec MacGillis covers politics and government for ProPublica. Football Recruiting / New Mexico / Hobbs, NM / Hobbs High School / Kooper Davis. You know, marginalizing our teens for other people that are high-risk, what do you pick? All he knew was that Kooper had been upset about the closures. They were among the strictest in the country. Kooper was born in Hobbs NM on August 9, 2003 and spent his childhood in Lovington before moving to Hobbs with his family, Father Justin Davis, Mother Heather Davis and his younger siblings, where he was an honors student, athlete and student leader. Kooper and his classmates would take their courses at home using an online program, with barely any contact with teachers or each other. Coach Stevens got the news from the school principal that afternoon. He is going to continue to use him to impact those around him, and Gods glory will shine through.. Thats the frustration, he said. The Texas Education Agency was letting districts make the decision. Davis and Glover appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit claiming that the residual clause of 924 (c) (3)'s "crime of violence" definition was unconstitutionally vague. The next day, Coach Stevens gathered his players and assistant coaches in the team meeting room to discuss Koopers death. The median age for COVID-19 fatalities in the U.S. is about 80. Her sister Claire is a sophomore at New Mexico State University. But Kooper hated virtual school. That is what teens are driven to do: to grow self-esteem and a strong sense of who they are. With school and so much else closed off to them, and daily life mostly limited to the home, the little bit of self-directedness they had before is gone. Just a few miles away in Texas, students were back in school and teams were playing a full season of games. Kooper Davis came across the border once with a friend to see a game in Levelland, northeast of Denver City, and another time with his father, Justin, to see a game in Seminole. Meg Gleghorn, left, is a sophomore at Hobbs High School and has chosen to continue with remote learning, while many of her peers have opted to return to part-time in-person learning. That earlier pandemics victims tended to be in the prime of life, with mortality peaking around age 28. He had been away from Hobbs at the time, working an oil-field job in Odessa, Texas, and a co-worker he had shared a truck with later tested positive. The weekends is where theyre getting it, said principal Rick Martinez. Ive heard it all, Fuller said. And then Kooper had died, a week later. I want him to tickle the babies while I go eat, she said. In addition to the CDC reporton the rising share of visits to emergency rooms by teenagers in distress, a University of Wisconsin survey of more than 3,000 high school athletes during the summer found that more than two-thirds reported high levels of anxiety and depression, 37% higher than past studies. She was heartened by the launch of the exercise class but knew the town needed to come up with more, just to let them know that we love them and theyre so wanted and theyre not alone. She started to cry. The Texas Classroom Teachers Association had nowhere near the sway of unions in other states. You cant republish our material wholesale, or automatically; you need to select stories to be republished individually. Even with fall sports canceled, the Hobbs school district, with almost 10,000 students, was still hoping to open the new school year for as much in-person instruction as possible. Like mosquitos carrying a tropical disease., In Los Angeles, county supervisor Hilda Solis, a former Obama labor secretary, urged young people to stay home, noting the risk of them infecting older members of their households. Kooper Davis went to meet Jesus on Monday, December 7, 2020. He was a straight-A student and the quarterback for the Hobbs high school football team. Jennifer Espinoza got word from fellow teachers, one of whom asked her, Hey, did you have Connor Davis? The name meant nothing to her, but, she asked, did they mean Kooper Davis? Everything looks the same on either side of the Texas-New Mexico border in the great oil patch of the Permian Basin. That meant all they could really do was lift weights: Kooper was despondent. In New Mexico, Gov. Thats what you think when youre 16: Nobody is dealing with what Im dealing with. Not to mention, he said, that the closures have simply given kids too many empty hours. Ive blamed myself., She had done a lot of reading on youth suicide since Landons death, and had learned that rates were especially high in indigenous communities, like the Aboriginal community of Australia. I found an empty space to stand in the back. For student-athletes aspiring to play in college, junior year is key. Plenty of parents continue to worry for their childrens health amid the pandemic. Lunch was still served in the cafeteria, but it never got crowded because many students went into town for lunch, at the McDonalds drive-through or elsewhere. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as theyre published. United Realty, LLC Happy Hump Day!! As it was sinking in with Kooper and his classmates that school would remain remote for the rest of the fall, they got word in early October of an additional setback on the sports front. Nationwide, deaths by suicide in the 10-to-24 age group increased by half between 2007 and 2018, a trend that has been linked to multiple factors, from the growing availability of guns to the spread of smartphones and social media. The building has good ventilation, and enough space that it wasnt hard to spread desks to allow for 4 to 6 feet between them, even in a class of 20 or more. But he knew he needed to work on his agility, which is one reason he took the practices so seriously. For high school junior Kooper Davis, whose family lives 10 minutes west of the border, this meant no school and no football. I cant see them, I cant even hear them, she said. States, and frequently individual school districts sometimes even individual schools and sports leagues have been forced to grapple with emerging and occasionally conflicting science that has sought to decode the mysteries of a newly discovered virus. It had been a terrible month, and it had left her uncertain about the best course for the Hobbs schools and sports teams. It has been a difficult balance to strike, on both a societal and family level. Kooper was very involved in and loved being part of his church family as well as being a Christian. His natural high spirits had carried him through his lifes primary challenge to date, his parents breakup when he was a small child. Kooper was very involved in and loved being part of his church family as well as being a Christian. Weve got districts 30 miles away doing it safely, associate superintendent Gene Strickland said. Celebrating the life of Kooper Davis Be the first to share your favorite memory, photo or story of Kooper.
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