GROVE PAINFUL REMINDER OF RISKS MEMORIAL HONORS YOUNG VICTIMS OF CAR CRASHES WITH DOZENS OF STUMPS.Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer SAUGUS - The warm breeze that blew during Saturday's dedication of a memorial to local youths who lost their lives in the twisted steel and shattered shat·ter v. shat·tered, shat·ter·ing, shat·ters v.tr. 1. To cause to break or burst suddenly into pieces, as with a violent blow. 2. a. glass of traffic crashes were a good omen for Alice Renolds. ``I think the kids were talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to me,'' said Renolds, whose sons, Timothy, 18, and Daniel, 15, were among four people killed Feb. 27, 2000, in a crash on Soledad Canyon Soledad Canyon is a long narrow canyon / valley located in Los Angeles County, California between the cities of Palmdale and Santa Clarita. Soledad Canyon contains the localities of Vincent, Acton, Ravenna, and Agua Dulce. Road. The $250,000 Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Youth Grove memorial in Central Park consists of 56 tree stumps - nearly all bearing the name and age of a person killed in a traffic crash before reaching age 25, who are connected with the city either by birth, education or the location of accident. They branch out like sun rays, ringing a plaque in the center engraved en·grave tr.v. en·graved, en·grav·ing, en·graves 1. To carve, cut, or etch into a material: engraved the champion's name on the trophy. 2. with the vow, ``No more names will be added to this memorial.'' ``We're not here because of reckless driving reckless driving n. operation of an automobile in a dangerous manner under the circumstances, including speeding (or going too fast for the conditions, even though within the posted speed limit), driving after drinking (but not drunk), having too many passengers in ,'' City Councilman Frank Ferry said. ``We're here because of choices. ... You have a choice to put a seat belt on. I don't want any more stumps on this grove. We as a community are going to say `No more.''' An assistant principal at Saugus High, Ferry choked back tears during his remarks. ``These aren't tree stumps to me. This isn't just another place in Santa Clarita to go to. When I look out there today, these kids are very much alive. I know that every single kid here who is forever young never got to reach their potential.'' The Renolds brothers, their 17-year-old friend, Dominic Ianozzi, and a passer-by, Rodney ``Rocky'' Adams, 45, were killed in the high-speed crash. Marcus Lellan, the teenage driver of the car in which the friends were riding, later pleaded guilty to four counts of manslaughter. ``When you lose your child, you lose your future,'' Renolds said. ``All the `what ifs' - who would they marry, what would they be doing? You don't ever find the answers.'' Kristen Lucille Sander-Corbitt was 29 when she was killed in 2002 in a crash on San Fernando Road San Fernando Road is a major street in the city and county of Los Angeles. It starts off in Castaic as The Old Road, passing through Santa Clarita and the Newhall Pass, where upon its intersection with Sierra Highway near the junction of the Golden State (I-5) and the . She left behind daughter Arieahna, now 10, and twins, Brieahna and Jaiden, who were just 17 days old when their mother died. Therese Sander Therese Sander (born November 22, 1948) is a Missouri farmer and a sitting Republican member of the Missouri House of Representatives. She was born in Columbia, Missouri, and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. - Kristen's mother - brought the now 3-year-old twins to the dedication for a tearful visit. ``It's very special,'' Sander said. ``It's someplace some·place adv. & n. Somewhere: "I didn't care where I was from so long as it was someplace else" Garrison Keillor. See Usage Note at everyplace. they can come and mourn ... My whole family's deceased. My grandkids keep me going.'' Diane Birones, who lost her 20-year-old daughter Michelle in a car crash in 1997, has turned her loss into a source of strength - she organizes support groups for parents also dealing with the death of a child. ``It was very sad and heartfelt,'' she said. ``There isn't a day goes by that I don't think about her - sometimes with tears and sometimes with smiles.'' Organizers, including the city's Blue Ribbon blue ribbon denotes highest honor. [Western Folklore: Brewer Dictionary, 127] See : Prize Task Force on teen issues, plan to hold annual vigils at the memorial. ``The kids drive so fast,'' Sander said. ``Hopefully, they'll stop and reconsider.'' Eugene Tong, (661) 257-5253 eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Natalie Coe, 20, of Valencia looks at photographs of youths who were killed in traffic collisions at the dedication of the Youth Grove memorial at Central Park in Saugus on Saturday. (2 -- 3 -- color) Above, Grace Smith of Sylmar attends the dedication ceremony of the Youth Grove memorial in Saugus on Saturday. At left, Jaiden Patterson, 3, of Saugus hugs a plaque dedicated to his father. Alex Collins/Special to the Daily News |
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