Classes will resume at Florida State University on Monday, four days after a deadly shooting on campus left two people dead and six others injured, school officials said.

Students and instructors will have the option of holding classes remotely or in person, depending on the class. The school has waived all mandatory attendance policies that could affect grades, so students won’t be punished if they choose not to go to class in person, FSU President Richard McCullough said in a letter to students and faculty.

Students also can request an incomplete grade for their class if they feel they are unable to complete a course, McCullough said.

“We want everyone to receive the support and help they need. For some students that may mean not going back into the classroom,” McCullough said. “For others, the idea of community and gathering, as well as the opportunity to focus on academics, may be beneficial. There is no single right answer for everyone.”

The gunman, identified as the stepson of a sheriff’s deputy, arrived on campus an hour before the shooting Thursday and stayed near a parking garage before he walked in and out of buildings and green spaces while firing a handgun just before lunchtime, police said.

In roughly four minutes, officers confronted 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, a Florida State student, and shot and wounded him, Tallahassee police said.

The two victims who died were Robert Morales, a university dining coordinator, and Tiru Chabba, an executive for food service vendor Aramark, according to family members and attorneys for the families.

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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.

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Some low-profile workers who have some very high-profile duties were acknowledged by Duke Energy last week.

Friday  was National Linework Appreciation Day and Duke Energy, which has more than 1 million customers in Florida, took measure to make sure some of their hardest working employees got the acknowledgement they deserve. Duke officials went out of their way to show their appreciate their “Guardians of the grid.”

The company highlighted that their lineworkers were responsible for restoring power outages for more than 3.1 million of their customers after Hurricane Helene initially hit the Big Bend area along the Gulf Coast in Florida Sept. 26 and then barreled into Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and beyond.

“Hurricane Helene was one of the most impactful storms in Duke Energy’s history, requiring an unprecedented response. Duke Energy lineworkers – many of whom were personally impacted by the storm – restored more than 3.1 million customer outages in the Carolinas, Florida and Midwest after Helene hit,” a Duke news release said.

Lineworkers make up a substantial portion of Duke Energy’s workforce. The company, based in North Carolina with extensive operations in Florida, employs 10,000 lineworkers. That also includes substation and relay technicians. The substation workers manage energy distribution at the substation facilities while relay technicians are in charge of testing the equipment for power distribution.

Duke Energy Foundation, a nonprofit wing of the company, has kicked in more than $3.3 million in funding for grants to support lineworker programs for participants. The position of lineworker is one of the fastest growing occupations, according to the company. Some 22 community college lineworker training programs currently exist in Duke’s service area.

 “Our customers live and work in some of the most vibrant, fastest-growing areas of the country. Duke Energy can efficiently meet current and future energy needs in large part due to our trusted line teams’ commitment to safety and excellence, and we value their work immensely,” said Scott Batson, Senior Vice President and Chief Power Grid Officer for Duke Energy.

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