CONSTRUCTION on OSU Memorial in Colorado to begin this month

Within days of the OSU plane crash in January, Darryl Haerther donated a piece of the property for a memorial. This week, officials in Stillwater say it wasn't very long after that they came up with

Wednesday, June 13th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Within days of the OSU plane crash in January, Darryl Haerther donated a piece of the property for a memorial. This week, officials in Stillwater say it wasn't very long after that they came up with a preliminary plan for the memorial, which they then took to the victims' families.

OSU Sports Information Office Director Steve Buzzard says "and then they were given a period of time to look at the plans, to think of things that they might wanna add or input that they would have, and each family was given that opportunity." The final design features concentric rings of black and red Oklahoma granite. In the center, the OSU spirit rider surrounded by ten stars. In the inner black ring, pictures of each of the victims. In the outer black ring, written descriptions of them provided by their families. The rest of the forty by 50-foot surface will be patterned concrete. Coloradans are donating a bench, two trees, and a wrought-iron fence, which will protect the memorial from grazing cattle. Buzzard says the memorial will be simple, but meaningful. "Something very fitting of the ten people who died, and I think this is it, it'll be, I think everyone who goes and is on the site certainly will be moved and will be proud of the Memorial. I think it'll be very well done."

Construction of the memorial will start later this month. The dedication has been scheduled for August 25th. The $40,000 cost will come out of the OSU Memorial Fund. As of June 1st, people here in Oklahoma and around the world had donated almost $450,000 to the Memorial Fund.