Unstable youth make bad, deadly decisions
I graduated from Uniontown Area High School in 1977 during a time when Uniontown was a much better and safer place. As with everything, time changes things. Whenever I do return, it is not the Uniontown that I remember and loved. My father, the late Rev. William A. Sawyer, along with others in the community, fought and marched for the civil rights of all minorities in this community back in the ’60s. I still remember to this day that we were in the church when we received news from Ms. Edith King, one of the members, that Martin Luther King Jr. had been shot. I was too young to understand the gravity of that horrific event , but I am older now.
Having strong ties to the community and with a background as a security officer for the Westmoreland County Juvenile Detention Center and as a captain for Allied Security Company, I am trying to grasp both sides of the tragic event that occurred Christmas Eve between young Michael Ellerbe, Trooper Samuel Nassan and Trooper Juan Curry.
It saddens my heart that many of our young are traveling down a road that is leading to their destruction and demise. But let us not forget the ones who are doing right and who are trying to make a future for themselves. We so often emphasize the negative and bypass the positive.
Don’t misunderstand me, I, and those of my time, did our share of mischief. One of my close childhood friends is now serving a life sentence for a homicide. But a few of my classmates are attorneys, businessmen and yes, even Pennsylvania state troopers.
I am very sad and disheartened that the Ellerbe family, or any other family, has had to endure the loss of a child by any means. We will never know the potential that young Michael could have displayed later in life. After all, I was no angel coming up, but because of the upbringing of my parents, the fear of my earthly father (those that knew him know what I mean) and the fear of my Heavenly Father, kept me out of a lot of trouble.
Unknown to anyone (even my mother, Geraldine Sawyer, who still lives in the area) if it had not been for the love, grace, and mercy of God, I would probably be in prison as an accomplice to a homicide. You see the crew that I ran with wanted to commit a robbery; I was the only one in the group who had a car.
Thank God certain events happened and it never went any further than a thought. But that is not true today of our young people. They not only think it, but carry out the thoughts that lead to crime and violence.
I hope and pray that the Ellerbe family can find some comfort in the loss of their son, by turning to their roots in the church and seek God for guidance in all the matters that pertain to the loss of Michael. I pray that the decisions that they make will be from careful thought and prayer and not from emotion and persuasion. I also pray that troopers Nassan and Curry, no matter what the outcome, can once again be productive and somehow begin to make positive contributions in whatever capacity that lies ahead for them.
I also hope and pray for the community, the entire community, to remember that we all must take ownership of this terrible tragedy in the sense that it does take a village to raise a child. We need to give our young people the hope that tomorrow can and does hold a bright future for them, and where they are now, no matter what the circumstances, is not where they have to stay.
I am older now and I understand the gravity of the actions and decisions that we make, and the effect that those decisions have on our lives and the lives of those we love. I work in a state prison as a chaplain. We have over 2,200 inmates at State Correctional Institute-Somerset. Some of the correction officers are from Uniontown. We see every day, young men who have thrown away their lives because they had no direction or stability from their family, namely their fathers. They made bad decisions, and it has cost them dearly.
I lead a group called “Long Distance Dads,” a program that shows inmates how to be better fathers to their children even though they are incarcerated.
Don’t let this be the legacy of our youth. We can help to stop the cycle, one youth at a time. Let us also demand the necessary reform for the expanded training of our local police officers and our state troopers. These men and women need and must have the best training possible to protect the citizens they serve. Any gaps in training should be filled immediately so that another tragedy does not occur.
May all of our youth experience and have the chance to live out their full potential in this life to the positive, and may we as the adults and leaders of this community lead them by way of example.
The Rev. Timothy W. Sawyer of Jeannette, a former Uniontown resident, is the Protestant chaplain at the State Correctional Institute in Somerset.