Heroic Teacher Will Play Protector Once Again

Sat., June 8, 1996

By Jonathan Martin jonathanm@spokesman.com

Four months after he saved a class of Moses Lake ninth-graders from a gunwielding student, Jon Lane is still playing the role of protector.

Lane will join 14-year-old Natalie Hintz as grand marshal of the 87th annual Ephrata Sage-N-Fun parade today. Parade officials chose the two in an attempt to put a brave, positive face on one of the worst public school tragedies in Washington state history.

Hintz is recovering from a gunshot that nearly tore her arm off. She has not appeared at a public event since the shooting. Shy and hesitant, she told parade organizers she would only participate if Lane was with her.

“I’m going to be with Jon Lane, so I’ll feel safe,” said Hintz. “He saved my life.”

Parade organizers said Lane remains a hero to the Ephrata community, a short drive from Moses Lake.

“How many people do you know are willing to step up and put their lives on the line?” said Candy Erickson. “Most people are in awe of what he was able to stand up and do.”

Lane, a physical education teacher, shuns the attention. “I want to make something good come out of this,” he said Thursday.

Two students and a teacher died during an afternoon math lesson at Moses Lake’s Frontier Junior High on Feb. 2 when a student burst in and opened fire with a hunting rifle.

Barry Loukaitas, 15, is charged with three counts of first degree murder. He is awaiting trial.

Lane saved 20 students by wrestling the gun from Loukaitas’ hands, according to student accounts of the incident.

After undergoing intensive treatment at a Seattle hospital, Hintz is left with no feeling in her right arm. Last week, she recovered slight motion in her right wrist.

She said she will use the time as grand marshal to thank Lane and the community. One Ephrata club raised $1,800 for her medical bills.

Lane has already been honored by an association of retired teachers and a Rotary club.

The awards are nice, he says, but he looks for the good in the incident. “The kids will be stronger because of this,” he said. “And the community is looking at what we can do - not just what could have been done - in the schools.”

, DataTimes

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