M
THE MUR R AY STATE
NEWS
Inside the life of Ja Morant
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February 22, 2018 | Vol. 92, No. 19
Canaan’s shining moment MCHS shooting Bryan Edwards || Sports Editor bedwards16@murraystate.edu
“I didn’t know this was happening, so I don’t even have a speech,” he said. “All I can say is thank you for pushing me.” Only nine times in Murray State basketball history has a player’s name and number hung in the rafters of the CFSB Center. A tenth name was added to the illustrious list last week. Just 24 hours after former Racer guard Isaiah Canaan was inducted into the Murray State Hall of Fame, Director of Athletics Allen Ward had one more thing to give to him. All 10 inductees were honored at halftime of the men’s basketball game against Tennessee Tech, but Ward asked Canaan to remain on the floor for just a few moments. With a mic in hand, Ward went through the long list of accomplishments Canaan had achieved throughout his Racer career. Canaan is one of six Murray State players and one of only 17 in the OVC history to reach 2,000 career points, ranking fifth all-time at Murray State. He was an All-American selection in 2012 and the first player since 1996 to be drafted in the NBA. “He led his teams to 106 wins during his four years as a Racer; the most of any class in program history,” Ward said. “He was OVC Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013 and one of only 10 three-time All-OVC selections. He won three consecutive OVC Championships and led his team to an incredible 23-0 start in 2011.” After being drafted in the second round of the 2013 NBA Draft, Canaan struggled to find consistency on a roster. Through five years in the league, he has played for five different teams. During his most recent stint, Canaan played 19 games for the Phoenix Suns before his season was abruptly ended after suffering a fractured left ankle. Through five seasons, Canaan averaged 8.4 points per game. Ward continued his speech on Canaan’s career and what he meant to Murray State, but it was the final words Ward said that left Canaan in tears. “From this day forward, no one will ever again wear number three for Murray State basketball,” he said. “Your name and number will forever hang from the rafters at the CFSB Center.” Canaan was shocked to see his name hanging next to Racer greats like Bennie Purcell, Popeye Jones and Jeff Martin. “I always dreamed of having my number hung up in the rafters one day,” Canaan said. “It was a great surprise because I had no idea about it. It’s real humbling and [I’m] blessed to be able to be up there in the rafters with the other greats.” Canaan’s jersey is the first to be retired since Marcus Brown’s No. 5 in 2010. Murray State’s current basketball team was on the floor to witness the moment as well, and it’s a moment that Head Coach Matt McMahon said is one of the greatest he’s ever seen. “I was thankful we were aware that it was happening,” McMahon said. “I thought instead of sitting in the locker room talking about stats and drawing up plays, I wanted our team to get to come out there and see that.” McMahon, who served as an assistant coach under Steve Prohm and coached Canaan for his junior and senior seasons, said there was no one more deserving. “For the impact he made here not only as a player, but as a person,” he said. “He continues to impact this community in an unbelievable way, and I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone more deserving of that ceremony.” Despite being immortalized as one of the greatest players in Murray State history, Canaan said the support he has gotten from Racer fans is a driving force in his NBA career and what makes it easy to come back to a place he calls home. “Wherever I go, there’s somebody that went to school at Murray or drove or flew to come see me play, and that means a lot to me just knowing that I’ve got family always following me.”
suspect in court
Lindsey Coleman News Editor
lcoleman7@murraystate.edu
The 15-year-old student accused in the Jan. 23 Marshall County High School shooting case made his first court appearance last week. Gabriel Ross Parker, of Hardin, Kentucky was arraigned on Friday, Feb. 16 in the Marshall County Circuit Court, where he will be tried as an adult. A grand jury indicted Parker on Tuesday, Feb. 13 on two counts of murder in the deaths of 15 year-olds Bailey Holt and Preston Cope. Parker was also indicted on 14 counts of first-degree assault for “causing serious physical injury” to the other gunshot victims, according
Gabriel Ross Parker will be tried as an adult. to the indictment. The arraignment was closed to the public and the media and the documents and video surrounding the details of the arraignment have been sealed.
Judge comes under fire Lindsey Coleman News Editor
lcoleman7@murraystate.edu
Marshall County Circuit Court Judge Jamie Jameson, who is currently presiding over the Gabriel Parker case, came under fire this week by local media outlets. Paxton Media Group, the parent company of WPSD-TV, The Paducah Sun and the Marshall County Tribune-Courier has filed a suit against Jameson on behalf of the three media organizations. The writ of mandamus, filed by PMG, claims that the judge “acted outside of his jurisdiction and committed clear errors of law that cannot be remedied by subsequent appeal.” The document states Jameson was an acquaintance of Parker’s mother,
took steps immediately following the shooting to assign a public defender to represent him despite the case not being in Circuit Court and demanded that police stop interviewing Parker following the shooting. Last weekend, journalists for the three media organizations, received reports that Jameson “went on record at the hearing to disclose his pre-indictment actions and purported to enter certain ‘findings’ about the appropriateness of his conduct and his ability to continue presiding over the case,” according to the motion. Jameson allegedly refused PMG’s post-hearing requests to release the video transcript of the hearing. The Kentucky Court of Appeals will make a ruling in the coming days or weeks.
Pension bill introduced Lindsey Coleman News Editor
lcoleman7@murraystate.edu
A bill was filed Tuesday in the Kentucky Senate to overhaul the state’s failing pension system. Sen. Joe Bowen, who introduced the bill, said the proposed legislation would correct the public pension system over the next 30 years. Bowen said that $3 billion of the state’s budget would be dedicated to the pension system each year. Some of the notable changes to this latest proposal include elimination of the requirement for cur-
rent and future state employees and teachers to move to a defined contribution 401(k) retirement plan; teachers will have to work longer to get enhanced benefits; teachers will no longer be allowed to stockpile sick days to put toward retirement; teachers will have to put 9.105 percent of their salary into their retirement plan while the state will contribute eight percent; and the annual cost of living increases for retired teachers will be cut in half for 12 years. The News will have more coverage next week on the proposed pension bill.
Bailey’s love for nursing will Preston’s family among those to carry on with scholarship be honored at Cardinals game Ashley Traylor
Interim Editor-in-Chief atraylor@murraystate.edu
Her aspirations of becoming a nurse faded in an instant, but now she is helping her classmates pursue their health profession dreams. Murray State’s School of Nursing and Health Professions and West Kentucky Community Technical College teamed up with Kentucky Nurses Association and Kentucky Nurses Foundation to sponsor a scholarship in memory of Bailey Holt, one of the two students who died in the Jan. 23 school shooting at Marshall County High School. The Bailey Holt Memorial Nursing Scholarship will be awarded to Marshall County High School graduates. Students must be admitted into the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program or graduates of WKTC admit-
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ted to the RN-to-BSN program at Murray State. “I hope that recipients will feel privileged to accept this scholarship in Bailey’s name,” Jennie Rottinghaus, director of development of the School of Nursing and Health Professions, said. “She wasn’t able to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse, but the awardees can pursue theirs in her honor.” Nancy Armstrong, assistant professor of the School of Nursing and local chapter president of KNA, spearheaded the creation of the scholarship after she saw a video about Holt’s aspirations to become a labor and delivery nurse. “After I saw that video clip where her parents were saying that she wanted to be a nurse, who worked with babies, that made me think well maybe we can at least do something in her honor and in her memory,” Armstrong
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Gage Johnson || Staff writer On Jan. 23, tragedy struck Marshall County High School when a student opened fire. The shooting resulted in two casualties, 15-year-olds Bailey Holt and Preston Cope. Adam Wainwright, a starting pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, and his foundation, Big League Impact, recently lent a helping hand to the victims and their families. During these dark times, the families are looking back on the positive memories of their children. For Preston’s family, it was his love of baseball and the St. Louis Cardinals. Wainwright and Preston crossed paths last year when Marshall County’s baseball team went to watch the Cardinals and then play in their own exhibition game at Busch Stadium shortly after. For Preston, it was an opportunity he would always look back on and smile.
“He was so thrilled and excited,” Preston’s father, Brian Cope, said in an interview with Major League Baseball. “It was a very special moment for him. One he would never forget.” Eventually these stories came to Wainwright’s attention, and he immediately wanted to help those in mourning. Wainwright and the Big League Impact foundation plan to host victims of the shooting and their families at Busch Stadium this summer. The trip to Busch Stadium will be an emotional one for the Cope family, especially for Brian, who played a large part in instilling the love of the Cardinals in Preston. Brian grew up a Cardinals fan, and he wanted Preston to do the same. “Passing that down to my son was important,” Cope said. Brian took Preston to his first ever Cardinals game and managed to score a Scott Rolen autograph. There were also many Sundays spent running the bases on the field after the game
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Bailey Holt, 15, died in the MCHS shooting. said. On Friday, Feb. 17, they revealed the scholarship and have already raised $1,000, which Armstrong said will translate to two $500 scholarships awarded to students at the start of the Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters. “We would be happy to
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Preston Cope, 15, died in the MCHS shooting. for the Cope family. The Copes were also at game three of the 2006 World Series and the 2011 championship parade. Preston attended the Winter Warm-Up in St. Louis last year as well. However, being able to play on the same field as his heroes was an experience that went unmatched for Preston. Brian recalls that day as “the highlight that made his young life.”
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