| Kirkwood remembers the dark past, and looks forward to a brighter future |
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| By Linda Lockhart, Beacon staff | |
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Current council members light candles for those who were killed as Mayor Art McDonnell, at right, reads their names. (Photo by Kristin DiFate)
Updated 9:07 a.m. Sun. Feb. 8 - The people of Kirkwood came together Saturday night. On a springlike evening, a large crowd came to pay tribute to five men and one woman who died last year. Kirkwood police officers William Biggs and Tom Ballman; Council members Connie Karr and Mike Lynch; and the city's public works director Ken Yost died on Feb. 7, 2008, after they were shot by Charles "Cookie" Thornton. Thornton was well known inside City Hall and throughout Kirkwood as a businessman who tried to help others and as an annoyance who frequently disrupted the city's business. He was killed by police who responded to a distress call from Biggs just after he had been shot.
Photos by Kristen DiFate | Beacon Months later, Mayor Mike Swoboda, who was wounded in the assault, died. He had suffered from cancer; his death was related to complications from the gunshot wounds. Thornton, who was African-American, cited race discrimination as a cause of his ongoing troubles with the city. All of his victims were white. In the year since the shootings, many people have worked to prevent an upheaval that could have further polarized Kirkwood along racial lines. The crowd standing outside Kirkwood City Hall Saturday night numbered more than 2,000. Unlike a similar gathering a year ago, the atmosphere was relaxed. People smiled and made small talk as they waited for the program to begin. Julie and Bob Mosby of Kirkwood came with their 15-year-old son Clayton “to be with the community,” Julie Mosby said. “For unity.” The Mosbys arrived with about 100 people who had met first at Kirkwood United Methodist Church. The group made the four-block walk from their church to City Hall with candles already lit. Other nearby congregations also gathered and walked together to the ceremony. Sandy Chambers, a former Kirkwood resident who now lives in Fenton, said she had come for “healing.” "This community still needs to come together," Chambers said. "We still need to learn more about each other." The brief Remembrance Ceremony began with a procession of surviving family members, city council members, city employees and members of the Kirkwood Ministerial Alliance.
Among those who came from outside Kirkwood were law enforcement officers, who represented many area departments including Maplewood, University City, Crestwood, Olivette, Maries County, St. Louis County and the Missouri Highway Patrol. The Community Gospel Choir opened with a stirring anthem and the Rev. Renee Johnson, of St. Matthew CME Church, followed with a prayer. Then Kirkwood Mayor Art McDonnell spoke of the dark night a year ago when the city was changed forever. After brief remarks, McDonnell began to call out the names of those who were killed, as current council members lit a candle for each person. Everyone in the crowd also held a candle, and strangers turned one to another and lit their candles from each other. The program ended with the Rev. David Holyan of the First Presbyterian Church offering a prayer based on the 23rd Psalm and a final song by the Gospel Choir. Then, just as simply as it had begun, the ceremony came to a close and the solemn crowd dispersed as church bells tolled in the distance. Peacemaking in MeachAm Park
At the Douglas Memorial Church of God in Christ, Pastor Larry Addison lays hands on Annie Bell Thornton, the mother of the late "Cookie" Lee Thornton, in prayer. Minutes later, about a mile and a half away, a service of a completely different sort was about to begin. At Douglas Memorial Church of God in Christ, about 50 people were gathered. They had come to pay tribute not only to the city officials who were killed, but to show support for the family of the killer. The church's pastor, Rev. Larry Addison, thanked God for keeping the community together and offered prayers for Annie Bell Thornton, mother of Charles Thornton. Addison said she, too, has suffered a great loss. Others who also spoke warmly to Thornton family members included Franklin McCallie, retired principal of Kirkwood High School, and Harriet Patton, president of the Meacham Park Neighborhood Improvement Association; community activist Zaki Baruti and Pastor Ed Plants of Geyer Road Baptist Church. The service had the tone of an old-time revival, with exuberant sprituals and expressive prayers.
The evening took a surprise turn when Addison introduced one unassuming visitor. Seated in a pew and wearing civilian clothes was Kirkwood Police Chief Jack Plummer. The chief had been sitting quietly with his wife, Cindy, when Addison introduced him and went to the chief and wrapped him up in an emotional embrace. Plummer said later that he had come to the Meacham Park gathering because "I need to be here. It's my task to serve all of Kirkwood. This is where I want to be." A lesson from the children Earlier Saturday, another group of Kirkwood residents got a lesson from school children about how they should move forward. And if the grownups will listen to the children, some adults say, progress might be possible.Several young people – students from Kirkwood schools – had the chance to tell older people what they thought at a meeting of the Community for Understanding and Healing. The group was formed last year after the shooting rampage. The meeting featured the winners of an essay contest that asked: "What would a prejudice-free, highly respectful community look like?" The contest had nine winners, three each from elementary, middle and high school. More than 300 students submitted essays. Read the essays
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