Bittersweet memorial

Greg Risling

It’s been weighing on the mind of Sheryl Hawkinson for many weeks.

She wondered when she would hear from the city about placing a memorial

plaque honoring two children who were killed at the day-care center she

operates.

The good news is coming in the mail.

The city on Tuesday sent a letter informing Hawkinson and the Coastal

Lighthouse Community Church, which owns the land, that the monument

dedicated to 4-year-old Sierra Soto and 3-year-old Brandon Wiener can be

erected.

“It’s such a relief to hear we can put it up,” Hawkinson said. “We’ve

felt like everything we have tried to do has met with some resistance.

It’s been one thing after another. The whole year has been a struggle.”

The plaque, which measures 18 inches high and a foot wide, will be

located at the corner of Santa Ana Avenue and Magnolia Street, where

Steven Allen Abrams drove his car onto a playground in May. Abrams,

allegedly aiming his 1967 Cadillac at the children, killed Sierra and

Brandon and injured four other children and a teacher’s aide.

The plaque has been sitting in a classroom at the Southcoast Early

Childhood Learning Center for the last two months. City Manager Allan

Roeder said planners had to consider whether the plaque fell under

regulations reserved for parks and city buildings, which meant it would

have to be a certain size.

The city also had to decide if the plaque could be included as part of an

encroachment permit. The permit was issued by the city earlier this year

for a new, reinforced wall that was contested by neighbors because it was

deemed a safety hazard. The plaque will be placed on the wall.

Roeder said even though the wall is on city property, the application for

the memorial can be a condition of the permit.

“There are still some safety-related issues to work out, but under the

existing permit, we authorize the plaque to be placed on the wall,”

Roeder said. “The wall isn’t a city facility, so the city attorney

determined the plaque doesn’t meet the same criteria we have for our

parks and buildings.”

The plaque features symbols cherished by the children who died. A

shooting star is etched for Sierra, who danced to the children’s ballad

“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” during her dance recitals. A teddy bear

holding balloons is the image on the plaque that Brandon’s mother, Pam,

wanted. The teddy bear was her son’s favorite toy. It was buried with

Brandon at his funeral.

“He always had it nearby,” Wiener said. “It has significance and meaning.

The plaque is one way for people to remember the two children who died.”

Hawkinson agreed the plaque serves as a reminder not only of the tragedy,

but the tremendous outpouring the day-care center staff and children’s

families received after the incident occurred.

“So many people came together as a community to support the families and

us collectively as a school,” she said. “The least we can do to remember

these children is to pay tribute to them, so we never forget what

happened here.”

For those reasons, Hawkinson wants to invite the community to the school

when the plaque is dedicated. She wanted to hold the ceremony before the

year ends, but Sierra’s mother, Cindy Soto, won’t return from vacation

until next month, when a date will be set.