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July 1, 2002






Canton church opened doors
___CANTON--When a bus full of teenagers crashed east of Dallas June 24, First Baptist Church of Canton suddenly became a focal point of attention.
___Pastor Tim Watson and other church staff rushed to the crash site and volunteered the Canton church's facilities as a "safe place" away from the accident scene for passengers on a second bus until their families could pick them up.
___"You find out what you're made of at a time like this," said Canton church member Ronnie Daniell, a chaplain for the Van
Zandt County Department of Public Safety who coordinated disaster response at First Baptist. "The whole community has come together. Response at the disaster scene worked just like it's supposed to as the disaster officials evaluated each person and provided the appropriate aid."
___The church provided food and soft drinks for the students while they waited.
___Watson said the students and their families from Metro Church in Garland "have been so gracious and appreciative."
___"The outpouring of support has been wonderful. We've seen Christianity in action here and at the disaster site," said Metro Church member Fred Gary, who works with the youth.
___He praised the response of the Department of Public Safety troopers.
___Stephanie Carothers, one of the Metro youth, added that "the sheriff's department did a good job of calming us down."
___Her father, Kerry Carothers, an elder at Metro, said: "The hospitality of First Baptist Canton and its community have been phenomenal. Volunteers seem extremely organized and prepared. It could serve as a model."

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