By Sam Epps
Monitor Staff Writer
CEDAR CREEK LAKE AREA–A mid-race hug may have saved the lives of Bill Marshall and his wife, Janet.
The couple are from Mesquite, where Bill is an assistant principal at Wilkinson Junior High School.
Bill was running in the Boston Marathon Monday and had just crossed the finish line when the first bomb exploded, killing three people and injuring more than 150 others.
Bill’s mother and father, Margie and John Marshall, of Trinidad, explained that Bill had made a quick stop to hug his wife in the latter stage of the race.
“Bill had stopped along the way to give his wife, Janet, a hug and that probably set the timing just right for him to miss the explosion,” Margie said. “The first bomb went off right as he (Bill) hit the finish line.”
After the hug, Janet opted to take a side street to avoid the heavy crowd along the marathon route to meet Bill at the finish line.
The hug, and her altered route to the finish line possibly saved her from injury.
Margie, and her husband Johnny, heard about the explosions through friends and family on the social media site Facebook.
After the initial shock and fear, she received phone calls from Bill and Janet assuring them they were both safe at their hotel room. The media has been reporting that none of the nearly 200 participants from North Texas were injured in the blasts.
Approximately 3/4 of the marathon runners had already crossed the finish line when the first bomb exploded. A mere 11 seconds later, the second bomb exploded just yards away.
In the carnage, three people, including an 8-year-old child perished.
In the aftermath, cities across the nation ramped up security measures, and many airports remain on high alert.
The FBI has taken charge of the investigation, and is treating it as a terror investigation.
No terrorist group has claimed responsibility, and law enforcement are intensely looking for evidence and clues.
President Barack Obama spoke briefly after the incident. “We will get to the bottom of this,” he said. “We will find who did this, and we will find out why they did this. Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.”

Special to The Monitor
ATHENS–The Child Advocacy Center awarded the Multi-disciplinary Team Member of the Year Award to Henderson County Sheriff’s Office investigator Jessica Halbert Feb. 26, at the HELP Center during a Multi-disciplinary team meeting.
The Henderson County Multi-disciplinary team is a collaborative group of law enforcement agencies, victim service groups, Child Protective Services, county and district attorney, medical staff and other organizations.
This group meets monthly to discuss and improve the investigation and prosecution of crimes against Henderson County children and to ensure these victims are offered the services they need.
The Team Member Award is voted on by the Multi-disciplinary Team Members throughout the year. Recipients have shown an aggressive stance in responses and actions taken with child abuse cases.
Quarterly awards were presented during the year for 2012 and include Henderson County Sheriff’s Office investigator Jessica Halbert, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Sue Hinson, County Attorney’s Office Laura Holder, and East Texas Medical Center, SANE Lynett Anderson.
From this group, Halbert was selected as the team member of the year.
The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office assigns an investigator to Crimes Against Children. Halbert worked more than 100 of these cases in 2012.
The Child Advocacy Center is a program of the Henderson County HELP Center.
For more information, call the HELP Center (903) 675-4357 or go to www.thehelpcenter.org.