On Sept. 20, after watching an OW vs.ONW volleyball game, Rick Lees and his wife Linda encountered an issue after parking their car. On their way out, they backed into a piece of rebar used to the tire stop in place. The tire, on their brand new pickup truck, was punctured, leaving them stuck in the parking lot.

While the couple was trying to find a solution, five Olathe West students, seniors Peter Marshall, Xander Mallory, Cole Thompson, Cooper Zwart and junior Tank Turner saw them struggling and came quickly to their aid. With the help of a few YouTube videos, the students worked to fix the tire. 

“It was a good deed and I was walking out of the volleyball game when I saw them [the couple] and there was a few people around them, but I just wanted to make sure they got out OK,” Zwart said.

Students took time out of their night to help the couple as much as they could, even if it took some heavy lifting. The extra effort was helpful because Lees had gotten his knees replaced recently. 

“We saw that they needed help of course considering that the guy said that he had his knees replaced, so he was having trouble moving around, so it was good that we were there to help move some of the heavier stuff around,” Marshall said.

While they may have looked for help on the internet, they used plenty of their own experience to assist in fixing the tire.

“He had the same exact truck as me, an F-150, so I knew I’d know stuff about the truck,” Turner said. “I went over helped him out, gave them my knowledge I knew about the truck and got the tire fixed.” 

Lees was more than thankful for the boys’ help, letting his friend’s daughter, Assistant Principal Megan Black know. 

Teachers and administrators are also more than proud to know West is a place with many helping hands. A place where support is just around the corner. 

“That is a great leadership moment,” Black said. “There are times where it is fun to be rivals with people… and then there is times where it doesn’t matter what school you’re here with or anything like that. We are to help each other out and have each other’s backs.”