What happened in the small farm community of Elk Point, South Dakota, on January 8, 1986, was unimaginable--a father shot his family and then walked to work and shot himself. Upon learning of the murder/suicide, the Elk Point School District faced the difficult questions of what teachers should say to students, how the district should deal with the news media, and what responsibilities various staff members should assume. After the initial shock, it became apparent that students and the community needed help learning to accept the tragedy. A community crisis team evolved that identified the needs of the community, identified resources inside and outside of the community, and developed a plan for assisting the entire community. The committee agreed that lack of communication within the family and within the community could have led to the murder/suicide. They organized a workshop with the idea of family communication as its focus. The format was a drama followed by small discussion groups with trained counselors acting as group leaders. The drama was a positive first step. The next steps will be workshops to promote the skills needed to communicate within the family. (JHZ)