Healing and Remembrance
Two rings of tribute planned; April 29 groundbreaking set
Charley Able, Rocky Mountain News
Published April 20, 2006 at midnight
Groundbreaking for the permanent memorial to Columbine victims will be April 29 because organizers of the memorial effort do not want to interfere with the privacy of the victims' families today as they observe the anniversary of the tragedy.
"We have, over the years, found that the family members prefer to have a private remembrance on the anniversary date," said Bob Easton, chairman of the Columbine Memorial Committee and executive director of Foothills Park and Recreation District.
The district operates Clement Park, where the memorial will be built between two hills near the high school.
The memorial committee - made up of Columbine faculty, students, parents of victims, emergency workers who were at the scene in the wake of the school slayings, business owners and representatives from the community - has been trying to get the project started for seven years.
The original plans for the project envisioned a $2.5 million monument to the victims of the lethal rampage at the schools. But the initial efforts stalled and the flow of contributions eventually slowed to a trickle as the immediacy of the tragedy faded.
Frequent attempts to kick-start the stalled project, including a 2004 event at which former President Bill Clinton appealed for contributions, had limited success.
But the committee kept plugging away at their task and late last year decided to scale back the design to fit the leaner, $1.5 million budget.
The memorial's Web site, -www. columbinememorial.org, Wednesday showed more than $1.05 million in donations, in-kind contributions and pledges has been raised.
The new design features two memorial areas that were in the original design, an outer Ring of Healing and an inner Ring of Remembrance.
The Ring of Healing will contain engraved messages from victims injured in the April 20, 1999, attack, and the words of other Columbine students, teachers and staff as well as community members.
The inner ring will have 13 stations, one for each of the innocent victims who died that day, and engraved messages written by their families.
To contribute, contact the Columbine Memorial Fund, c/o Foothills Foundation, P.O. Box 621788, Littleton, CO, 80162-1788.
Featured
-
DNC in Denver
Complete coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
-
The Crevasse
A five-part series that examines one tragic day on Mount Rainier.
-
Deadly denial
Sick nuclear workers applied for government compensation but most haven't seen a dime.
-
Final Salute
The Rocky followed Maj. Steve Beck as he took on the most difficult duty of his career.
-
'Colorado's burning'
Coverage of the state's worst wildfires.
-
Columbine shootings
Coverage of the April 20, 1999, shootings at Littleton's Columbine High School.
-
The Crossing
Colorado's deadliest traffic accident killed 20 children on Dec. 14, 1961.
-
Osveli's journey
Osveli Sales left Guatemala for a better life. Two months later, he came home in a box.
-
Wake for an Indian warrior
Oglala Sioux bestow a tribute to the first tribal fatality in Iraq.
