Lannon to be remembered
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| Holmes Beach Police Officer Pete Lannon |
Holmes Beach Police Officer Pete Lannon will not soon be forgotten.
He was given a grand sendoff by family, the city, the
community and children and adults associated with the Anna Maria Elementary
School when he died June 1, but now he will receive honors from the city
and the school.
The two entities,
the police department and the school, are joining together to present
lasting memorials to Lannon - the
naming of the skatepark initiated by the HBPD and the creation of a dedicated
crosswalk and path to the school for all who come there, Lannon’s Way.
A
committee of interested parties met last week at the school to discuss planning
events surrounding the memorials, and tentatively set Oct. 18-19 aside as the
preferred days. The school presentation will take place Thursday, Oct. 18, and
with students out of school on Friday, an event at the skatepark will take place
with city officials and, hopefully, plenty of skateboarders in attendance.
The
school plan, according to principal Tom Levengood, will include the planting
of a red cedar tree by the school’s
Parent-Teacher Organization near the crosswalk that Lannon guarded faithfully
in his tenure at AME.
It will suit his passion
for the Christmas holiday, he indicated in relaying information from PTO president
Joy Murphy, and counselor Cindi Harrison suggested it could be decorated for
various holidays by students. “Pete would have liked that.”
Also
in the plans are paver bricks between the existing crosswalk and the sidewalk
in front of the school, hopefully including a “Superman” logo, and
a concrete walkway connecting that location to the school’s existing covered
walkway, to be named Lannon’s Way.
Levengood
plans to use his artistic skills to embellish a stone bench with decorative cut-glass,
including a Superman logo. The bench will be placed in an arbor that will be
installed beside the crosswalk and will provide a resting area for crossing guards,
and students will be able to plant flowering vines to grow over the trellis.
Organizers
hope the new walkway will include inset “stepping stones” created
by students at AME to recognize their emotional ties to the police counselor,
leader of the school’s DARE program.
Harrison
said that because Lannon died during summer break, it will be good for the students
who knew him to have a chance to honor him. “It’s OK to be sad,” she
said.
The
students will learn this along with their knowledge and valuable lessons gained
from Lannon. Second- through fifth-grade students knew Lannon well - as
did the community.
The
skatepark naming will include a new sign for the park and rededication to the
two families that donated the funds for the park, the Hagens and Hardys.
A schedule
and more details on “Lannon’s
Day” are forthcoming. For information, call Levengood at 941-708-5525. |
