The Shadow
As the Virginian Review pulled into the parking lot at Jeter-Watson Elementary School, the first thing that stood out was a breathtaking memorial to the late J.B. Broughman. His car was parked in its usual space and donned with flowers and a message left on his windshield. It reads, in part:
“There are those people who somehow have the ability to make the world a better place simply by being in it. JB was one of those people… There had to be a great celebration when JB walked through those pearly gates, but rest assured that heaven is safer now with him there. And without a doubt, once JB was welcomed with open arms into heaven, he turned back around to make sure that the gate was secured… we’ll be picking up where you left off —walking laps and checking doors.”
Making a foot lap around the flower-covered police car, it was easy to take note of the sidewalk chalk still underneath it after someone —or perhaps several people— drew doodles of hearts and the words, “Our Hero” on the concrete beside the driver-side door. Words undoubtedly felt by many, if not all those in the confines of the school. One might wonder if the reason the chalk remains beneath the car is if, in the event of rain washing it all away one day, someone may perhaps be waiting in the wings to rush outside at the first hint of sunshine to do it all over again.
As the Virginian Review entered the doors of Jeter Watson Elementary School, located at 560 W. Indian Valley Road in Covington, a brand-new wall decal jumped into view on the right-hand-side, just past the second set of doors. The decal was set on a Carolina blue wall with the words, “Jeter-Watson Elementary” beneath their new mascot/logo. Above the mascot was the phrase, “Home of the Cougar Cubs” circling the cub’s head in their school colors of navy and Carolina blue. The decal was first unveiled the afternoon of Friday, August 18.
“We were really excited about it,” Rachael Thompson, PTO President, said of the new logo and mascot. “Ya know, we lost our resource officer recently. One of our PTO members who is also fifth-grade teacher here, Meagan Grimes… she came up with the idea of naming him [the mascot] JB after him… and Jacob Grimes, Meagan’s husband, he did the lion’s share of the work.”
According to Thompson, the design work was done by “School Branding Agency,” an online company who specializes in school designs. Jacob Grimes, she says, “found ‘School Branding Agency’ and dealt with them one-on-one.’”
Officer Joseph B. “J.B.” Broughman, served his community for over 4 decades as a police officer, chief of police, and City Manager of Covington. Afterwards, he became the resource officer for Jeter-Watson Intermediate School, now Jeter-Watson Elementary. Broughman sadly passed away on Saturday, August 5th of this year.
Leaving the school and passing by Officer Broughman’s car once more, the Virginian Review couldn’t help but stop and pay our respects to the man so highly regarded that the new school mascot will forever carry his name. Perhaps, it was the best way for them to keep his memory alive; by leaving his car in its usual parking place and placing “JB” next to the front doors where he could forever protect the children inside.
