Parents Of Newtown Victims Among Those On Panel To Decide On Possible Memorial
NEWTOWN, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) - Four parents of children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting were among the people chosen for a commission that will decide how to memorialize the victims.
Twelve people were sworn in Monday evening as members of the commission that will evaluate whether, how and where a permanent memorial should be built. The town has received many proposals, but the process is expected to take years.
Gunman Adam Lanza killed 20 first graders and six educators inside the school on Dec. 14 in one of the worst mass school shootings in U.S. history.
A Newtown panel voted to shutter and demolish the school earlier this year. A new school could be built on the grounds.
The victims' parents on the commission are JoAnn Bacon, Brian Engel, Scarlett Lewis and Tricia Pinto. They and the other members, including architects, were chosen from 35 candidates who volunteered.
Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra said the Board of Selectmen was honored particularly by the willingness of victims' parents to join the panel.
"Your job is to determine what and if it should be, when, where and how - the how is the funding. Pace yourself; the work will dictate the time,'' Llodra said in comments reported by The Newtown Bee.
The panel's recommendation will be submitted to the Board of Selectmen.
It has taken years for other communities hit by mass killings to hammer out a consensus on how to memorialize victims. A memorial to 13 students shot dead at Columbine High School in Colorado took eight years to complete. The 9/11 memorial in New York City opened in 2011, 10 years after the terrorist attacks.
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