Editorial: A family in need

Jennifer Vincek probably kissed her three daughters good-bye Saturday night before heading to work the third shift at the Shell service station on East Broad Street.

Following what Statesville Police Chief Steve Hampton described as an “especially heinous” crime, that would be the last time the 29-year-old mother would ever see Areyal Sherapita, 7, Jazmyn, 2, and Samara Wright, 6 months.Vincek and regular customer Jeffrey Peck, 52, were shot and killed early Sunday morning during an armed robbery.

Andrew Darrin Ramseur, 19, has been charged with the murders.As Ramseur awaits his day in court, Vincek’s three daughters await their next meal, their next diaper change, their next bedtime story — and they wait without their mother, who just wanted to take care of her girls.

“She really wanted to provide for her family,” said Scott Eanes, senior pastor of Fairview Baptist Church, where Vincek attended services. “She was a wonderful mother.”Driven by that love for her daughters, Vincek took to working third shift, which co-workers said she feared — and perhaps rightfully so.

Now less one parent and one income, Vincek’s family is strained.Some members of the community have already stepped up to help: a memorial fund for the girls has been set up through Wachovia Bank; the Troutman Kangaroo station has a donation jar on the counter; and diapers, formula and other items can be dropped off at the Shell station on Broad Street.

Those three girls are already without their mother; they shouldn’t have to go without anything else.