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Documentary Follows West’s Recovery Through The Eyes Of Its Football Team

WFAA/YouTube
"Rise Up, West" explores the journey of the town's football team in the year following the deadly fertilizer plant explosion. The documentary airs at 6 p.m. Saturday on WFAA-TV (Channel 8).

Five stories that have North Texas talking: Remembering the explosion in West; it’s bluebonnet time; the Dallas Art Fair is underway; and more:

The one-year anniversary of the deadly explosion in West is approaching and a documentary explores how the town’s football team has helped lead the recovery. Rise Up, West airs at 6 p.m. Saturday on WFAA-TV (Channel 8.) The station says it spent weeks with Coach David Woodard’s family, capturing “the challenge of coaching a team that just experienced enormous devastation and loss.” “Despite what happens in our life, we have to pick ourselves up the next day and move forward," Woodard told WFAA. Last weekend, hundreds of West residents saw the documentary. “It was inspiring,” Israel Veselka, whose children attend school in West, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “It was real. It didn’t gloss over anything. It showed who we are.” Fifteen people were killed following the fertilizer plant explosion on April 17, 2013. Here’s the trailer:

  • Also on Saturday, a Zumba dance fundraiser in McKinney will benefit the First Baptist Church of West Disaster Relief Fund. The opening ceremonies at “RISE UP, Dance for West” will include a tribute to fallen West first responders. Country singer Donna Beckham, a West native, will perform the national anthem. She’ll also sing a song she wrote about West, titled “Home.” The event begins at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at The Beach at Craig Ranch in McKinney.

Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.