By Ed Zuger
Local columnist
Feb 24, 2021
Zuger
Just three years ago and around 300 miles from the Tri-county area a western Kentucky high school in Marshall County joined the horrific list of mass shooting incidents, news of which we seemed to read or watch almost weekly for some time. Lately, the mass shooting has become either a waning phenomenon or has been usurped in the media by the past year's COVID-19 saturation, a horror in its own right and one ongoing.
Benton, Kentucky, and the Draffenville community where Marshall's high school sits, appear familiar. Benton serves as Marshall County's governmental seat with fewer than 5,000 residents. A Walmart complements some small, local businesses most of which participate in the annual parades, such as the one to celebrate Tater Day, the local tradition rooted in the 19th century, communal ethic that passed around potato seedlings to practically anyone wanting to boost their crop or garden yields. City officials celebrate Benton's "closeness of neighbors, the friendly strangers, and the relaxation lifestyle."