Candlelight service planned for Jonah King

By Nathan Hardin
nhardin@salisburypost.com
MOUNT ULLA — Friends of Jonah King will hold a candlelight memorial service Thursday night for the 16-year-old who died after a skateboarding accident earlier this week.
The service will start at 8 p.m. on West Rowan High School’s football field. The school is at 8050 N.C. 801 between Statesville Boulevard and Sherrills Ford Road.
King fell while riding a longboard — a longer version of a skateboard — early Monday in the Summerfield subdivision off N.C. 150. He died of his injuries Tuesday at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
He was a rising senior at West Rowan High School.
Erin Shelton, Jonah’s counselor at West, is helping organize the event.
The vigil, she said, is important for those who knew him.
“The kids at West Rowan are just a really close-knit group to begin with. There is not a lot of divide in our student body, and I think this is a chance to heal,” Shelton said. “I think they need this time together.”
As a member of the West Rowan “crazies,” a student group that supports Falcons athletics, Jonah spent many Friday nights cheering on his school.
Because of those memories, she said, the candlelight service on the football field will have extra meaning.
“That was his ritual,” Shelton said, “to always run the flag for us when we scored a touchdown.”
Shelton said she was approached with the idea by Jonah’s friend Sarah Perrine, who wanted to do something in Jonah’s honor.
Shelton said Perrine expects “hundreds” to come.
“... Knowing Jonah and his impact,” Shelton said, “I don’t think that’s out of the realm at all.”
Contact reporter Nathan Hardin at 704-797-4246.