Tom Rex has been with Lakewood Elementary School near Surfside Beach for over 15 years--the several of those as principal.
Rex said a lot of the teachers and administrators have been at the school for quite some time, too, and that makes handling tragedies like Wednesday night's deadly crash, a little easier.
"I feel fortunate to be (at this school)" said Rex on Friday morning. "The people that work here--they're very giving, very supportive, and work well together."
The staff is now working to cope and help students deal with the deaths of 9-year-old Dajah Sermon, and her 6-year-old brother, Mark Sermon III. The children, along with their father, Mark Sermon, Jr., died in a crash on the U.S. Highway 17 Bypass.
"A brother and sister together, it's pretty tough," said Rex. "They were beautiful kids -- very, very sweet children," he said.
Rex particularly remembers Dajah's involvement with the school's "Talkin' Trash" program (in conjunction with The Horry County Solid Waste Authority and WBTW News13).
"She'd be going around the hallways, picking up recyclables, so she got to be pretty well-known because of that," Rex said. He also said that was the nature of both Dajah and Mark. "They were always wanting to ask to do things for people," he said.
The school is still working on ways to pay tribute to the children, but Rex said those plans are still in the works.
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