There are some things we just do not expect to have happen in a small city we believe to be safe.
Topping that list is the idea of someone being murdered when they go to work.
Yes there are careers which come with the threat of death associated with them, the RCMP, firefighters, even heavy equipment operators recognize they might die in an accident associated with their jobs.
But for most of us in Yorkton the idea is one we just never consider.
Consider for a moment Jimmy Wiebe. It's June 20, a typical Monday in our city. A day like a few thousand others which come and go here, one blending into another.
Jimmy, that was what those who knew him called him, got ready for work, another night shift at a gas station. It was a shift he had often had. People knew him from his job taking their money for gas and smokes and junk food to curb late night munchies.
It was to be Jimmy's last night shift as his career path was about to change, but he went to work as usual.
And then fate took over. Somewhere in the dark of night, while most of us slept, someone walked into the gas station as hundreds had before, and when they left their hands were wet with Jimmy's blood, and Jimmy was lying on the floor taking his last breaths.
In the dark of night one of our city's residents had died senselessly, apparently killed by another.
The murder has sent our city into a state of disbelief. This sort of thing is not supposed to happen here, and we as a community are now left struggling with how to deal with the realization such a thing can happen here.
Thursday night one step in the healing took place as a candlelight vigil took place to remember Jimmy, held just outside the station where he died.
One of the vigil's organizers Aaron Nagy said the event had a dual purpose, to show support for Jimmy's family and his memory, and as a way for the community to come to terms, in some small way, with the murder.
We will never understand the events of that night. Even with a suspect now charged with murder, or even after a trial, will we understand, because violence in the dark of night in our city is beyond our comprehension?
The best we can hope for is to try and be more vigilant in keeping our city safe, in watching out for one another, and having compassion for each other.
If we can emerge from this a more caring city, a safer city, then we will have done our best to honour Jimmy, a man who simply went to work one night, and never saw his home, family, or friends again.
Your community misses you Jimmy.
