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5th grader creating memorial garden to honor lives lost in Dawson Springs tornado

gardeners.com

A 5th grade Madisonville student and his teacher have been awarded a grant to help bring healing from the grief of lives lost in the December tornadoes.

When the tornado hit Dawson Springs on Dec. 10, it wiped out many of the houses in the town Noah Allen’s parents called home.

Allen is a 5th-grader at Pride Elementary in Madisonville who said it was upsetting to see so many family homes gone.

So he came up with a project to remember the local people who died in the tornado and add a place of beauty and reflection.

WEHT reports Allen and his teacher, Kelly Gates, have been awarded a $2,000 grant from Youth Services America to create a memorial garden called “Beauty from Ashes.”

The planned location for the garden is in the Dawson Springs town square. Each family who lost a loved one will choose a specific flower in their honor.

The garden will have a memorial rock with the names of those who died in the storm.

Students from Pride Elementary in Madisonville will create the garden, along with students from Dawson Springs.

The garden will be completed by June.

Rhonda Miller began as reporter and host for All Things Considered on WKU Public Radio in 2015. She has worked as Gulf Coast reporter for Mississippi Public Broadcasting, where she won Associated Press, Edward R. Murrow and Green Eyeshade awards for stories on dead sea turtles, health and legal issues arising from the 2010 BP oil spill and homeless veterans.
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