Friends, family, community mourn the death of Terry McCann

   More than 150 friends, family and neighbors gathered this afternoon in the yard of the house where Terry "Bubba" McCann lived and where he ended his life this past Wednesday. Most wept -- either openly as they hugged others who shared their loss, or silently alone when they thought nobody was looking.

     As the strains of Vince Gill's "Go Rest High on the Mountain" played on the loudspeaker system, scores of  blue, red and white balloons -- many with handwritten messages from classmates -- were released into the air.

     Blue was Terry's favorite color and "Go Rest High" was his favorite song.

    Jimmy Cole, Terry's legal guardian, asked all of those in attendance to remember "Bubba" and to "keep his name out there. Let's handle this the right way. Let's do it Bubba's way. We will go through the legal system. Do it the right way."

     Cole said Terry would not approve of anyone jumping on the bullies who drove him to suicide at the age of 15, and he asked those attending to not take matters into their own hands.

     "My head says I want to do that, too," Cole said, "but my heart says Terry would not want anybody to do that. He would not want any of you babies out there to get in trouble on account of him."

      Cole, who is not related to Terry by blood, said he became his legal guardian about seven months ago.

      "I loved him like my own son," Cole said. "I still do."

     Terry's mother, Crystal McCann, was surrounded by those offering condolences and fond memories of her son. 

     Cole said he will be spearheading a campaign to have a new law enacted that will provide criminal consequences for those guilty of bullying, and for those in authority who do nothing to prevent or address bullying in the schools. He wants it to be called the Terry McCann Law.

      "I don't want them to be able to just sweep it under the rug like they have been doing in this parish," he said.  "I will go to the Legislature and I will be there every day that they are in session. They will get to know Terry and his story. I will not let his death be in vain. Something good must come from this."

      Cole said that when a student is being bullied, they have been told to tell someone in authority -- a teacher or the principal. "If the authorities can't protect them, who can."

     He said he has heard reports that Terry told a teacher what was happening and her advice was to ignore them and they will stop. He said he has seen a text-chain which purports to include texts from that teacher admitting she was told and did not do as much as she should have done to address the situation.

      Cole said Terry was "big for his age. I guess that made him different. He was just a jolly giant who never had a bad word to say about anybody. He was too sweet of a person for this to happen to him. God will not allow this to go unpunished."

       He said the watch word now must be "no more violence. Let the police officers do their job in investigating this case."

      Rev. James White, pastor of Crossroads New Life Tabernacle in Deville, asked those in attendance to "be a family" and to provide the support and guidance for the youth in their communities. He said they should not get bogged down in the anti-bullying efforts at the expense of forgetting the person that Terry was.

     "Don't let the memory of Terry fade away," he said. "Each of you carries a memory of Terry. You should cherish that. Talk about him. Talk about what a great guy he was. Don't let his memory fade away."

     White said the balloon release memorial service "is not the end of something, but is the beginning of something."

     To the many high school students in the crowd, Cole said, "Thank you babies for being my baby's friend. I mean that with all my heart."