There were many touching moments this afternoon to honor the victims of a high school shooting our region will never forget.
From now on, the Living Memorial Park in Chardon will be dedicated to Daniel Parmertor ,Demetrius Hewlin, and Russell King Jr. They were the three lives lost back in 2012, when a student opened fire at Chardon High School.
Since then, the student council has taken on the project of creating this park. It has three areas: a walking trail, a playground, and an exercise space.
The community raised funds to make it all possible, and now the Chardon grads who fronted this project hope it will be a place of reflection.
"We didn't just want a statue to stare at, or a tree to remember in front of the school," former student Katie Kalis said. "We wanted families and other individuals to be able to come out and celebrate, to reflect, to appreciate life, to just have a place to laugh."
The former students say they hope the future student council members will continue to maintain the park.
The shooter in this case is serving three life sentences without the chance of parole.