Shooter Who Shot Alicia (Workman) Shanks Former BFA Teacher Pleads Guilty

[Henry]

ESSEX SHOOTING: Suspect pleads guilty

Essex shooting suspect Christopher Williams pleaded guilty this morning to two counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

Williams was sentenced to 48 years to life on the combined charges.

The sentencing came just after 9 a.m. today at Vermont District Court in Burlington, where Williams changed his plea for not guilty to guilty in the August 2006 shooting spree that left two dead and two others wounded.

[Henry]

Alleged Essex Shooter Rejects Plea, Stuns Courtroom.  Christopher Williams, the man police have accused of going on a shooting rampage in Essex, Vt. in 2006, has told a Burlington court that he's not ready to plead guilty to murder charges.

[Suzy]

The BFA Class of 1983 is having their 25th class reunion June 28, 2008, and we'd like to try to raise money for the Alicia Shanks Memorial Scholarship through VSAC.  Alicia Shanks (Mrs. Shanks to us) was the fourth grade teacher to many of us and our classmates.  Many of her former students are planning on collecting donations and donating in the month of June, and I'm hoping it could be a community wide event. 

It feels like it will be hard to make something positive come out of this terrible tragedy, but we're willing to try.  I'm looking for any stores/businesses that would be willing to donate a percentage of their profits for that weekend in June to the scholarship fund.  Also, we'll probably be asking stores if we can put donation jars on their counters for that weekend. I'll write more about our plans when they're more concrete.  Right now it's just a hope, and that's what we need!

 Please feel free to contact me if you'd like to be involved!  Churches?  Fourth grade students?  High school students, girl/boy scouts?  Let's show our community's support for good teachers, like Alicia Shanks was! 

Love, Suzy Kneeland  email:  jimsoozhq@aol.com