Town mourns teen after car wreck

Published 12:00 am Monday, November 14, 2005

Monterey, La. &8212; This tiny community is missing something important today &8212; one of its most promising young people.

Jordan Tiffee, a junior at Monterey High School, died Monday of injuries sustained in a car accident Sunday.

&8220;He had so much going for him,&8221; Monterey resident Brad Lipsey said. &8220;He was the kind of guy you&8217;d like to be around.&8221;

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Lipsey, principal at Ridgecrest Elementary school, knew Tiffee well from his teaching days at Monterey and from community activities.

Tiffee, 16, was injured when his truck ran off the road on Louisiana 129 near Monterey Sunday night, officials for the Louisiana State Police said.

The truck entered a ditch, then struck a road sign before hitting a small tree and then a larger tree, at which point it stopped.

Tiffee was transported to Natchez Regional Medical Center and then on to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, where he was pronounced dead Monday.

Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. today at New Era Baptist Church in New Era, La. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the church.

Monterey Principal Neeva Sibley said Tiffee was a great student.

&8220;To give you an idea of what he was like, we had the yearbook voting about two weeks ago and he was voted most courteous,&8221; Sibley said. &8220;He was very outgoing, always had a smile on his face, just a cheerful kid.&8221;

Tiffee spent his entire academic career at Monterey. His was the first class that started pre-K at the school, Sibley said.

Many high school students did not attend class Monday and Tuesday after learning of Tiffee&8217;s death. Sibley said the school has offered counselors and a local minister has come by the school to help students.

Tiffee is survived by parents Jason and Bebee Tiffee, his grandparents, three sisters and a brother. Sibley said Jordan was probably related to at least 40 percent of Monterey students.

Tiffee&8217;s best friend was his cousin, Landon White. The two did just about everything together, Sibley said, including one of Tiffee&8217;s favorite pastimes, roping cattle and other rodeo events.

The family is organizing the Jordan Tiffee Memorial Team Roping Classic. Donations can be made at Concordia Bank for the event.