MOORE, Okla. – It has become a centerpiece to the destruction, crosses on the grounds at Plaza Towers Elementary bearing the name of each child who died.
The cleanup process in the neighborhood around the school is well underway.
People are sifting through the debris and as they do that many are looking to a memorial erected on the school grounds as a sign of hope.
Moore Superintendent Susie Pierce said, “It is a beautiful scene.”
The crosses carry the name of each of the seven children who died in the school.
It’s a memorial built and put up by school maintenance workers.
Pierce said, “These were men that went in with the first responders and were seeing children’s backpacks and books.”
As those workers began clearing debris, they said they felt something needed to fill the space to remember the children who were killed.
“They came up with the design themselves,” Pierce said. “They did the wood work themselves, installed the solar lights.”
Courtney Johnson is a third grade teacher from Tulsa.
She came to help Moore residents and stopped by the memorial to pay her respects.
Johnson said, “It’s hard. It’s hard. As a teacher, my heart goes out.”
The debris at the school will be removed and the building rebuilt but officials said the crosses will remain on the grounds to remember those little lives taken one week ago.
Pierce said, “It’s also an important part of the process that we acknowledge what happened on that site and that we have a place where those children and their families can be honored and they have absolutely accomplished that.”
