Gov. Tim Kaine will meet with the families of April 16, 2007 shooting victims Saturday, the second of three meetings guaranteed by a legal settlement and the first since shooter Seung-Hui Cho's medical records were discovered in the home of former Cook Counseling Center director Robert Miller.
The settlement, which was signed by all but two families of the shooting victims, guaranteed the families three meetings with Kaine before he leaves office at the end of 2009.
Kaine met with the families in October 2008, and was scheduled to meet with them in "early 2009," and once again before he leaves office. Saturday's meeting at the Capitol building in Richmond will be the first meeting of 2009.
Andrew Goddard, whose son Colin was injured in Norris Hall, said he hopes the timing of the meetings does not diminish their effectiveness.
"I would hate to think we are getting so close to the end of his administration that things would fall off the end and not be dealt with and not handed over," Goddard said. "I'd like things rounded before we change to the next governor."
Lori Haas, whose daughter Emily was injured in Norris Hall, said Kaine has not upheld his end of the settlement.
"He obviously has not adhered to the settlement, not to the letter of the settlement," Haas said. "We requested some meetings and he just didn't feel compelled for whatever reason, I can't honestly tell you why he didn't have the meetings according to the schedule. I was personally disappointed."
Following the discovery of Cho's mental health records in July, more than 60 family members signed a petition urging Kaine to reconvene the governor's Virginia Tech Review Panel.
"The National Transportation Safety Board investigates a plane crash for over a year," Haas said. "We have the largest mass shooting in recent history and we have a panel that spent under four months? It wasn't enough time. I don't begrudge the panel and the job they did. They had time limitations that were very restrictive, and they should be able to do the job they want to do and know how to do."
Instead, families were offered the chance to submit corrections for the panel's 2007 report. TriData, an independent information systems firm, will compile and evaluate the corrections before Kaine decides whether to reconvene the panel.
Haas objects to TriData handling the revision of the report.
"TriData is a paid company, they are paid by the state of Virginia," Haas said. "There is a little bit of a disconnect there. The perception is can they be objective? I don't know. The panel were not paid. They're volunteers, they're experts in their field."
The revised report is due Oct. 31.
Haas said multiple members of the original panel have indicated a desire to reconvene.
"And every single panel member I spoke to, and I've spoken to five personally, all want to serve," Haas said.
Leave a comment 0 Comments Write a letter to the editor
All letters to the editor must include a name, e-mail, daytime phone number and affiliation to Virginia Tech. Affiliation includes: year and major for students; position and department for faculty and staff; current city for alumni and parents.