Donna Beckham sings “Still Around West,” a song penned by West resident Jenipher Janek whose home was destroyed in the blast. Mayor Tommy Muska, upon hearing the song for the first time, became emotional and said “it’s a wonderful song that … told you just how everybody feels.”[space]
During a live on-air performance, West Mayor Tommy Muska became emotional after hearing the song "Still Around West" performed live for the first time.
The song, penned by Jenipher Janek and performed by Donna Beckham, both resident's of West, moved Muska to tears.
"That's the first time I've heard it. It's a wonderful song. It told you just how everybody feels," Muska said. "It's very well done. I'm very pleased with it. It's another show of how strong these people are."
Janek wrote the song about the disaster just two days after the April 17, 2013, explosion that killed 15 people in the small town, including 12 first responders.
The blast also destroyed Janek's home. For the next seven months, Janek lived in a mobile home while her home was rebuilt.
To read the lyrics to the song, see the tweet below from NBC 5 reporter Jeff Smith.
If you want to read the powerful lyrics of "Still Around West", here they are. Written by Jenipher Janek @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/zNdP7P2rtX — Jeff Smith (@JeffSmithNBC5) April 17, 2014
Throughout the day NBC 5 plans to offer several livestreams of anniversary coverage from West. At 2 p.m., a news conference will be streamed live on this page. At 7:15 p.m., a memorial service, including a moment of silence at 7:51 p.m., will be streamed. Check back and refresh this page for the latest — or visit our special section on the explosion in West found here.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
NBC 5's Jeff Smith contributed to this report.
