COMMERCIAL APPEAL
Scouts launch 'reading grove' plan to honor 3 slain West Memphis boys
Charles Bernsen
Wednesday, May 26, 1993
Scout groups in Crittenden County are heading an effort to build a living memorial to three 8-year-old West Memphis boys murdered this month.
The "reading grove" commemorating Michael Moore, Chris Byers and Steve Branch would be built near the library of Weaver Elementary where the slain boys were second-grade students, said Diana Hogue. She's a district Cub Scout official and a speech therapist who works at several schools, including Weaver.
The school board has given permission to build the memorial on school property, Hogue said, and letters have been sent to local scouting groups seeking help on the project. So far, several donations of material, labor and money have come in, she said.
Although the details of the project aren't final, Hogue said she envisions a covered pavilion with benches, a small monument with the boys' names and landscaping with flowers and trees. The plan is to build the memorial this summer so it's ready for use when the next school year starts.
"We're thinking of a quiet place that teachers might use for reading aloud," Hogue said. "It would look upon the little boys' lives in a positive manner and reflect their interests - reading and Cub Scouts."
The boys were found bound and beaten to death May 6 in woods near their homes.
No one has been arrested in the case.
