Garden To Honor Memory Of Flores Sisters Cove Creek Students Counting On Community Support For Meaningful Project By Sherrie Norris The eighth-grade students at Cove Creek Elementary School will never forget the grief their school family experienced approximately five months ago when three young sisters perished in a house fire. Liliana Cid Flores, age 8, Anadacy Cid Flores, 6, and Clarita Cid Flores, 5, died on Sept. 15, 2006 and were laid to rest together, as in life, in a single coffin. Their parents, a toddler brother, other relatives and many friends were left behind to keep their memory alive. Debbie Eggers and a few of her Greenhouse Class students at Cove Creek Elementary need our help to construct a Memory Garden as a way to remember three young sisters who perished last fall in a house fire. Photo by Sherrie Norris Students, faculty and staff of Cove Creek Elementary School mobilized immediately, as did other schools, churches, organizations, businesses and individuals, in an effort to bring comfort to the surviving family members. Watauga County as a whole came together in an effort to meet the physical needs of the grieving family with offerings of shelter, food, clothing and money. In a unique show of support, the Eighth Grade Greenhouse Class, led by teacher Debbie Eggers, began to plan, design and make preparations for a Memorial Garden as a way to forever remember the three deceased sisters. Soon after the tragedy, the class members began soliciting support from their community for funding, as well as actual materials needed for the project. “We were just getting things started when cold weather set in,’ states Eggers, ‘and now, with spring just around the corner, we’ve got to get busy.” Class members share their plans to build the garden behind the school, which will include three separate flower beds representing each of the girls, in addition to benches with their names engraved, encircled by a stone walkway and wrought iron fence, with a water fountain at the entrance. Another section of the garden space will be utilized for growing vegetables. “In order to pay for the stone, benches, materials and the flower beds, we need help from the community.” Three White Balloons Girly girls with ponytails, Sunny smiles that never failed, Twirling dresses, make a fuss, Running out to meet the bus. Hand on heart as they go by Underneath the clearing sky, Sailing to a higher place, Teaching us they’ve won the race. Written By Harry Hicklin For Liliana, Dacy and Clara Eggers and her students say they are very grateful for the assistance of the local Kiwanis, Cove Creek Grange and Ruritan Club, all of which have made donations toward the project, in addition to landscaping architect, Bob Gow and Ramsey Knight, who have helped with the plans and garden design, Roger Townsend, who tilled the ground last fall, Steve Ward, who has offered to have his welding class at WHS help with the wrought-iron fence and Buddy Spears, who has offered to engrave into the benches the names of the girls, along with their dates of births and deaths. “We will also include a poem on a separate bench, called “Three White Balloons” written by Mr. Hicklin, our computer teacher.” Eggers and her students were also quick to mention the support they have received from Principal Mike Sherrrill and the entire school, as well as the county office and school board. One male student added, “Bobbie Short has said she would help us, too, and has already given us a donation.” Eggers added, “This is an amazing school and we’ve got a lot of great kids who are eager to help.” Stressing that the idea for the garden was “student-generated with a lot of excitement and wonderful ideas,” Eggers emphasized that while the current eighth graders will do most of the work to construct the gardens, they are counting on their K-8 successors to maintain and keep the gardens alive, as well as the memories, in the coming years. With a fairly conservative estimate of $1,000 needed to construct the gardens, only $300 has been raised to date. “We have had a lot of the work donated, as well as the flowers, but there is much to be done,” Eggers added. She complimented her students for their hard work in the early-stage of rock removal from the ground once it had been tilled last fall. Eggers said that she and her students are hoping for “an early spring,” so work can begin in earnest and the project completed in time for everyone to enjoy before the school year ends.” In the meantime, her greenhouse class will continue their annual spring project of growing petunias for Mother’s Day baskets, which they do each year. “Every penny that we raise will go back into this gardening project.” In describing their plans for the Memorial Garden, the students’ enthusiasm was genuine and quite touching, as they told of their plans for each flower bed. “Most of the flowers have to be bright – just like the girls were, and we want each one to represent the girls’ personalities and be easily associated with their names: In Dacy’s, we will plant daisies; Liliana’s will be filled with lilies and Claire’s will be a variety of brightly colored flowers.” To be a part of this worth-while project, please mail donations to Cove Creek Elementary School, Memorial Garden Project, 930 Vanderpool Road Vilas, NC 28692, attention: Sara Isaacs, Bookkeeper, or call (828)297-2781 for more information.