An Indian Chief
Sits Atop His horse
Ten Feathers
On His Staff
Ten Lives
Lost
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Art Teacher Helps Santa Fe Deal With Painting
Fox 26 Houston
By: Randy Wallace
Posted: May 26 2018 12:36 AM CDT
SANTA FE, Texas (FOX 26) - Art teacher Doug Hiser doesn't live in Santa Fe anymore but his heart never leaves his hometown.
"My father graduated from there, I graduated from there and played football there, my son graduated from there a few years back," said Hiser.
Like the rest of Santa Fe, Hiser's heart broke on May 18 following the deadly mass shooting at Santa Fe High School.
"I cried and I've cried ever since," said Hiser.
Years ago, Hiser wrote a book about Santa Fe titled "The Honey Bee Girl."
The tragic school shooting prompted his artistic side to create the painting called "Ten Feathers."
"I dreamed this painting and I woke up the next morning," said Hiser. "I have to do this painting! I'll give it to the art department. I went to school and got two of my best art students to work with me and they painted it in a day."
Hiser said that painting the names of the ten shooting victims left tears on the canvas. He has received an overwhelming response to the painting.
With the help of Vivid Graphics, Hiser will be selling the painting in prints and other items.
All the proceeds from sales of the pieces will benefit an annual scholarship for a Santa Fe art student.
"I'm still overwhelmed when people tell me it makes them cry," said Hiser. "I know it's a powerful painting.”
Hiser's eyes filled with tears as he talked about the response he has received.
"I think in a way, it's healing people," said Hiser. "It makes them proud of what Santa Fe symbolizes and it's pulling people together.
For more information about purchasing prints of Hiser's painting,
VISIT
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KHOU 11
Author: Michelle Homer, Brandon Scott, Associated Press
Published: 4:44 PM CDT May 23, 2018
Updated: 5:14 PM CDT May 25, 2018
Remember Their Names: Santa Fe High School Shooting Victims
Ten families are in mourning and hundreds of others had their lives forever changed on May 18, 2018.
It was a sunny Friday morning at Santa Fe High School and students and teachers were excited about the weekend and the end of the school year just two weeks away.
They had no idea their worlds were about to be turned upside down and 10 of them wouldn't live to see the weekend. Eight students and two teachers were shot and killed by a student who barged into the arts hallway and opened fire.
Christian Riley Garcia
Christian Riley Garcia, 15, "laid down his life so others could have a chance," according to Sarah Saunders, his aunt.
Student Jai Gillard, says that after they heard gunshots and smelled gunpowder on Friday, she and Garcia and other students piled into a closet. She says Garcia used his body as a "barricade" against the closet door to keep the shooter from entering.
Pastor Keenan Smith said law enforcement told Garcia's parents that Garcia was shot through the door he was guarding. He said that because of Garcia's "sacrifice, others were saved."
Gillard, a 14-year-old freshman, told The Associated Press that Garcia always sat next to her in art class, and had asked her on a date recently.
She says he was "always happy" and "very sweet."
Christian hoped to enlist in the military when was old enough. He felt it was his calling to serve others.
"He had the biggest heart and the biggest chunk of ours feels to have left with him," Saunders said.
Chris Stone
Chris Stone, who played football for the Santa Fe Indians, is also being called a hero by students who hid with him in a closet, according to his sister.
"We were told by a student that was with him, that Chris was trying to escape the room. Didn't succeed. But he did go into a closet with other kids and he was the one to help hold the door closed. And he did shoot the door and it hit my brother. The boy that was telling us, he stayed and he prayed with him. So my brother wasn't alone, and I will always be grateful for that," sister Angelica Stone said, pausing with emotion. "Many kids are saying that if it weren't for Chris, the other kids in the room probably would have been dead, as well."
"Our brother was selfless. He was our baby brother but he was our big brother in so many ways," sister Mercedez Stone said.
"He was so gentle, anyone that knew him was touched by him. And I just don't think he deserved anything that happened to him, but we know he is still with us. And he will always be in our hearts," Angelica said, choking up with emotion.
The sisters want their brother remembered for how he lived, and not how he died.
Sabika Sheikh
Sabika Sheikh,18, was an exchange student who had been in Santa Fe since last August. Her parents thought she would be safe in America.
Sabika's family told the BBC she wanted to become a diplomat.
Her father, Pakistani businessman Abdul Aziz Sheikh, said he learned of the tragedy unfolding at a high school in Texas when he turned on the TV after iftar, the fast-breaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Realizing it was the school Sabika attended, he flipped through channels trying to learn more and left her messages. But she didn't reply.
His daughter's friends weren't responding either. When he finally reached the exchange program, he got the bad news: Sabika Khan was among the 10 people killed in the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School.
Fighting back tears, her father told The Associated Press that Sabika was due home in about three weeks for the holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
Angelique Ramirez
Family members said Angelique Ramirez was a strong teenager who watched over her younger brother.
"She was busting at the seams with energy and laughter. Vivacious," the family said.
"She had so much ahead of her. CREATIVE beyond belief! She was a magnificent caretaker and a staple in her family. She stood up for what was right and made friends with anyone she saw as a good soul. A beautiful child finding her way and hopeful for her future. Beyond her years"
The pastor at her family's church described the 15-year-old as "a sweet young lady, had a style all of her own." He says she "almost always had a new hairstyle."
An aunt, Sylvia Pritchett, said in a Facebook post she has "a broken heart and a soul that just can't process all this right now."
Shana Fisher
Sixteen-year-old Shana Fisher will be remembered as "shy and sweet" with a passion for video games, anime and her dog, relatives say.
Her biological mother believes her daughter was intentionally targeted by the gunman.
Sadie Rodriguez said Dimitrious Pagourtzis repeatedly made advances toward Shana in the four months leading up to the shooting. Pagourtzis was an ex-boyfriend of Shana's best friend, she said.
He kept making advances on her and she repeatedly told him no," said Rodriguez over Facebook Messenger. "He continued to get more aggressive."
Rodriguez said that the week before the shooting, Shana "stood up to him" by "embarrass(ing) him in class." Rodriguez gave no other details.
Kimberly Jessica Vaughan
Kimberly Vaughan was a Girl Scout with a penchant for red hair dye.
Her mother, Rhonda Hart, announced on Facebook that her daughter was one of the children who did not make it.
"She is in heaven," Hart said. "I am heartbroken."
After the shooting Friday, Hart urged people on Facebook to contact their elected representatives.
A former U.S. Army watercraft operator, Hart called for gun control, saying "we need to protect our kids." She also invited other service members to "speak up" for her daughter.
Hart said one way to honor Kimberly would be to apply some red hair dye because she "loved those colors in her hair."
Aaron Kyle McLeod
McLeod, a freshman who went by Kyle, could always be counted on to make light of any situation, said close friend Kali Reeves, who added the 15-year-old "just always had a bright side of things."
Reeves, also 15, said she knew McLeod for years and became close friends with him in the eighth grade. She said he always had a smile on his face and loved to hang out with his friends.
"He was never one to be a sad or down person, he always had to joke or laugh about things," she said. "He was just outgoing and super sweet. He definitely didn't deserve this."
Reeves said she first heard that her friend had been shot as she was evacuating Santa Fe High School, but was unaware of the extent of his condition.
Reeves said she texted McLeod throughout the day to check up on him. She sent him one final text, saying she hopes he "gets better." Shortly after, she checked Facebook and learned he was one of the 10 killed.
Jared Black
Jared Black turned 17 two days before was gunned down by a classmate at Santa Fe High School. His stepfather said the family was planning a birthday party that weekend and had bought an above-ground pool for the celebration.
An older brother from Odessa, Texas, was planning to visit with his wife and kids. Jared also had a younger brother, Houston, 13.
“My nephew Jared really liked comic books. He loved to draw his own artwork and he was a giant kid at heart,” said John Conrad.
He also loved art, video games and wrestling, the family said.
Jared's father in California waited 13 agonizing hours before learning his son had been killed in the shooting.
Cynthia Tisdale
A substitute teacher whose passion was her children and grandchildren is remembered for "her lust for life and the joy she got from helping people."
Recie said his parents had been married for 46 years and had three children and 11 grandchildren.
His father, William Tisdale, has a life-threatening illness so his mother spent much of her time caring for him.
“Since my brother has been very ill the last couple of years, she was a very excellent caregiver and she worked two jobs for extra income to help,” Brother-in-law John Tisdale told The Monitor newspaper. “She worked at the school and a second job as a server at night at an Italian restaurant chain."
Niece Leia Olinde said Tisdale was like a mother to her and helped her shop for wedding dresses last year.
Olinde said she "never met a woman who loved her family so much."
Ann Perkins
For years, Ann Perkins had been a substitute teacher at Santa Fe High School, where her grandchildren are students.
A friend called her a beloved teacher and nurturing angel who enjoyed spending time with her children, grandchildren and students.
She lived an impeccable life “filled with traveling, love, family & a bit of champagne," the friend said.
Perkins was a member of an all-female Galveston Mardi Gras krewe called Tutu Live Krewe.
The mural is on the wall of the Santa Fe City Hall, visible from Highway 6. It is November, there is a large wreath with a red bow beside the mural.