Plaque would memorialize fallen children at center

Greg Risling

COSTA MESA -- Who would think a plaque decorated with a teddy bear

holding balloons that has rays from a shining star wouldn’t be allowed at

a day-care center where two children died in May?

Although that scenario hasn’t happened, it is not outside the realm of

possibility. Staffers from the Southcoast Early Childhood Learning Center

will ask for city approval to place the plaque on the wall that surrounds

the school, but the size of the memorial exceeds city standards.

The artwork and wording etched on a piece of granite was donated two

months ago to the school in memory of 4-year-old Sierra Soto and

3-year-old Brandon Wiener, who were killed when a motorist plowed onto

the playground. The plaque measures 12-by-14 inches, much larger than

what the city’s allows for memorial plates in public places, which is

four-by-eight inches.

“I think the only issue would probably be the size of the plaque,”

said City Manager Allan Roeder. “Given what has happened at the school, I

think it would be in the same spirit of other memorials that have been

previously approved.”

If the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission approves the request, it

would be passed along to the City Council for final review.

Sheryl Hawkinson, the day-care center’s director, said she hopes the

size wouldn’t be rejected, especially since it was given as a gift to the

school. She added the plaque would be put on the newly constructed wall

at the corner of Magnolia Street and Santa Ana Avenue.

The center also had to gain an exception from the city’s standards for

the wall, which was built by volunteers with donated materials shortly

after the tragedy. Several neighbors complained that the wall protruded

onto the sidewalk and blocked their view of cars. They appealed the

city’s decision to grant an exception permit and demanded the structure

be torn down, but Roeder worked out a compromise that allowed it to stay.

The place where the plaque would hang on the wall is eerily symbolic

because it is where 39-year-old Steven Allen Abrams began his path of

damage that sent kids screaming, left Sierra and Brandon dead and injured

four other children and a teacher’s aide.

“We want this to be a memorial to remember these children, not a

little plaque,” Hawkinson said.

Abrams is awaiting trial and has been charged with two counts of

murder and several counts of attempted murder. It hasn’t been decided

whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty.

Whether the council will make an exception in the case remains to be

seen. Roeder said a recent proposal by the Lions Club to place a plaque

at the Costa Mesa Country Golf Club in honor of a former member and

council member was approved by the council. However, Roeder added, the

size of the plaque had to be reduced to meet the city’s requirement.