Candlelight Vigil Caps Anniversary

The Columbine High massacre has left an indelible mark on Colorado, but it should be easier for residents to deal with the effects of the deadly rampage once Thursday's anniversary has passed, Gov. Bill Owens said.

As a gentle breeze blew, Coloradans hugged each other, shed tears and observed a moment of silence Thursday at services to remember the 13 people slain at Columbine High exactly one year ago.

The day of public and private remembrances ended with hundreds carrying lighted candles to an interfaith vigil Thursday evening at the park near the school.

John and Doreen Tomlin, parents of slain student John Tomlin, carried a torch and led a procession in their son's pickup truck. The torch, inscribed with the 13 victims' names, was lighted in an earlier memorial service to symbolize the effort to carry on for those who died.

"It's a real special experience because to me these kids are making a commitment to pick up the torch that the kids left," Mrs. Tomlin said.

"Today is about the angels who are watching over us, helping us to heal and helping us to remember," Owens told a crowd gathered at the state Capitol in Denver.

"We came through that tragedy with a stronger sense of community and with a resolve to ensure that the deaths of the victims will not be in vain."

Owens presided over a moment of silence at 11:21 a.m., the time the Columbine attack began. As distant church bells tolled 13 times and a bagpipe played, the governor and his wife planted columbines, the state flower that gave the school its name, beneath a flagpole outside the State Capitol.

"Personally, I'll be remembering going to Lee Wood Elementary and meeting with the victims' families, many who didn't know they lost their children. I'll be remembering what happened that day and hopefully trying to learn something from it. Something in terms of not only the gun legislation that we have discussed so much, but also a need for a change of culture," Owens said earlier on CBS News' Early Show.

Earlier in the day, about 1,000 students, staffers and alumni attended a private assembly at the school in suburban Littleton, while about 500 parents were at a separate service in the auditorium. Many wore T-shirts with blue-and-silver lettering, "We are Columbine."

"Obviously, there's a lot of crying and a lot of hugging, a lot of solemn remembering," said Rick Kaufman, a Jefferson County School District spokesman.

Separate graveside services were held at two cemeteries where some victims were buried.

At Chapel Hill cemetery, family and friends hugged and cried softly as an angel windsock adorning victim Rachel Scott's cross blew in the breeze.

Cherry Creek High School student Sam Mamtherne, 17, was friends with Scott. "It's hard just remembering it, the good times and then remembering how it all ended," she said, tears falling from her eyes.

hapel Hill cemetery, where Scott, Corey DePooter and teacher Dave Sanders are buried, has 13 wooden crosses to honor them and their fellow victims in an area called Columbine Gardens.

The massacre, which left 15 dead, including two student gunmen, has left an indelible mark on Colorado, but it should be easier for residents to deal with the effects of the deadly rampage once Thursday's anniversary has passed, Owens said at an earlier appearance.

"I think Columbine will be with us forever just as the Oklahoma City bombing," Owens said this morning as he stood in Clement Park near the school.

Classes at the school were canceled and attendance at the memorial service was optional. In addition to the private assembly, a public remembrance and an evening candlelight vigil in Clement Park were planned.

Workers unloaded barricades at the park Wednesday, preparing for thousands of mourners bringing flowers, handwritten messages and teddy bears.

Todd Branson of Thornton, a Denver suburb, visited there early Thursday morning because "I had to be here."

"You think about Oklahoma City and you are remorseful for them, but it's not in your back yard. This is in my back yard," said Branson, who wore a blue and silver ribbon -- the Columbine school colors -- on his shirt.

"I know all the names of all the victims," he said. "We've got to give a visible sign of support to the students. It will go a long way toward helping them recover."

In Washington Thursday, President Clinton said time has not softened the grief, "but today America stands together as one to keep faith with all those who lost their lives at Columbine -- and all those whose lives were forever changed that day. We must continue to honor their memory and your courage by resolving to make America a safer place for all our children."

Columbine's attendance has dropped steadily this week, and 624 students were absent Wednesday -- about a third of the school, district spokeswoman Marilyn Saltzman said.

Nate Wooten, a freshman, said Wednesday there was little talk about the anniversary among Columbine students.

"They care, I know that," said his friend Brad Bootsma, a sophomore. "I guess they're just trying to go on with their lives. I know I am."

Hanging in the air Thursday -- not spoken of, but not forgotten -- is the untold story of the killers of Columbine, reports CBS News Anchor Dan Rather. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, who ended the massacre by killing themselves, are the focus of intense studies by researchers.

"Some mass killers have been known to be very awkward, and kind of psychotic and strange and weirdo kinds of kids," said Dr. Lenore Terr, a psychiatrist. "These kids were not strange and weirdo, even though they dressed in black trenchcoats."

Terr is studying recollections of Columbine students -- pieces of a psychological auopsy.

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