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| 10/3/2008 1:14:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| Hundreds of people attended Emily’s Parade at Platte Canyon High School on Sept. 27 to remember slain student Emily Keyes, who was killed on Sept. 27, 2006. (Photo by Mike Potter/The Flume)
Crowds for emily
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Kindness Day, Emily's Parade honor Emily Keyes
Debra Orecchio
Correspondent
Platte Canyon schools celebrated the third annual Kindness Day on Friday, Sept. 26, in honor of Emily Keyes, who lost her life when a lone gunman entered Platte Canyon High School on Sept. 27, 2006. The next day, Emily's Parade, which featured more than 1,500 motorcycles, continued the activities in honor of Emily Keyes.
Deer Creek
At Deer Creek Elementary, Principal Paul Sandos and Dean of Students Derek Mullner put a spin on Kindness Day and made the day Acceptance Day as part of the school's SOAR award program, which awards students for the four attributes of Scholarly, Organized, Accepting and Respectful.
Mullner said that accepting is one of the hardest attributes for the students, so to help students learn to be accepting, Sandos invited Marc Romero, a disabled skier from Pine Junction, to speak to the students about his handicap.
Romero lost his leg in a head-on motorcycle crash with another motorcycle when he was a senior in high school. Seven years after the accident, in 1986, he took up skiing. He competed with the U.S. Disabled Ski Team and is considered one of the top free skiers.
He showed the elementary students a film he produced called "Heroes of the Slopes" about other disabled and blind skiers. (The film is available on his Web site at www.heroesoftheslopes.com) He also spoke about technological advances in prosthetics that are making rehabilitation a lot quicker. Romero also answered questions from some of the students.
Students also worked on a project that Mullner called "Path to Acceptance." The kids traced their feet and cut them out. Throughout the day, acts of acceptance were written on the cut outs and pasted on the wall inside the school. The project will continue until a path is created all around the outside of the school, which Mullner thinks will take a couple of months.
Fitzsimmons
At Fitzsimmons Middle School, students baked cookies for Emily's Parade the following day. Students also colored and cut out paper "hugs" that were hung around the school. On the hugs, students wrote something that someone else did that was kind.
Joan Dabbert took her sixth-grade science class to the outdoor classroom on the hill behind the school. The students broke out into groups and came up with random acts of kindness that they could do at school, at home, and in the community. The groups shared all of their ideas with the rest of the class.
Principal Shannon Clarke said that students also made a mural for the parade. They also made "kindness pouches" that will be hung on student lockers throughout the year, Clarke said.
Platte Canyon
High School
At Platte Canyon High School, students were involved in a number of different activities. Some made blankets to donate to places like nursing homes or volunteer fire departments.
English classes traveled to the elementary school to read to the younger kids, and a car wash was being held in the school parking lot.
Emily's Parade
The 3rd Annual Emily's Parade was held on the actual anniversary of the death of Emily Keyes. A total of 1,595 motorcycles with an additional 580 passengers drove the 37 miles from Columbine High School up to Platte Canyon High School on a beautiful fall day in the mountains.
Louis Gonzalez, president of the I Love U Guys Foundation, founded in honor of Emily Keyes, said that it was a very successful day.
"They raised a lot of money, way above our expectations," Gonzalez said.
According to a press release issued by the Foundation, $45,851 was raised this year. Ellen Stoddard-Keyes, Emily's mother and vice president of the foundation, said that they decided to fund all four of the groups that had applied for a grant from the foundation: Mountain Resource Center, Bridges to Peace, Drop In Center and Mountain Peace Shelter.
Additional funds will help support the National School Safety Collaborative, said a press release.
"We are touched and inspired by this year's turnout," said John-Michael Keyes, Emily's father, in the press release. "Looking out at the sea of motorcyclists, law officers and community members gathered in support of Emily and the "I Love U Guys Foundation is a miraculous sight - one that I hope to see repeated for many years to come."
Stoddard-Keyes said that 126 people participated in the 5K run/walk hosted by the Park County Sheriff's Office and sponsored by the community Web site Pinecam. The Jefferson County SWAT team ran in formation, as did the PCSO.
"It was a beautiful run on County Road 64," Stoddard-Keyes said.
Mary Sasser, who volunteered for the event and "wore many hats," said it was great to see so many people united in kindness.
"It was an emotional day," said Sasser. "It was a day filled with hugs and smiles, and tears, of course."
Elvira Beck was one of the organizers for the event who traveled down to Columbine High School very early Saturday morning. "What's wonderful is that they receive us so well," she said of Columbine. "Frank DeAngelis and his staff were wonderful."
Beck said that when the volunteers arrived at Columbine, they were all served a big breakfast of sausage, eggs, and bacon.
Gonzalez added that it was an incredible day.
"Thank you for keeping the memory of Emily alive and working toward safer schools," he said.
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