Willows student dies

The community of Willows this week continues to mourn the death of a popular and prominent high school senior.

Kayla Arnold, 18, was taken off life support and died late Wednesday morning, according to family spokesman Curtis Parks, whose son Brian was a close friend and classmate of Kayla’s, but died in 2006.

“Kayla was a wonderful young lady and loved by a lot of kids,” Parks said Wednesday. “I know the community will rally behind her family the same way they did last time.”

Parks said that an official cause of death had not been determined as of Wednesday and said an autopsy would be scheduled “very soon.”

“The doctors have been able to rule out a few possibilities. We know it did not have anything to do with drugs and meningitis was also ruled out,” Parks said. “But, we still don’t know what actually happened or why.”

A phone call to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon was not immediately returned.

“(Graduation) is right around the corner,” Parks said, “ and there’s no denying that this will make everything much tougher for everyone in this class.”

“This is a time of sorrow and healing,” said Willows High principal Mort Geivett. “This senior class has suffered more losses than anyone should have to face.”

Geivett said the senior class was told about their classmate’s condition at a special meeting in the cafeteria late Tuesday morning. Several of Kayla’s closet friends were released from school with parental permission to travel to the Bay Area to be with the family, he said

Kayla and her mother, Raina Arnold, were visiting the Bay Area for the weekend. Kayla was admitted to the Vacaville hospital and transferred to the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center sometime on Sunday, Geivett said earlier this week.

“Our hearts and our prayers are with everyone in Kayla’s family and with all of her friends,” said high school counselor Tom Bryant.

Bryant said counselors from both the school district and Glenn County Mental Health were on campus this week and said the school’s counseling staff would maintain a “flexible” attitude during this time of mourning.

“Everyone has their own healing process and we’re doing everything we can to take care of our student’s real needs,” Bryant said.

Bryant said students congregated in the library and counseling office this week, trading stories and memories and helping each other begin what he said is likely to be a tough healing process. “Students need to be in the best environment for themselves right now,” Bryant said. “Our doors are wide-open to all of our students and we will pull together like we always have.”

For more on this story check back online at www.willows-journal.com.

Contact Robert Parsons at 458-2121 or rparsons@tcnpress.com.