Officials approve memorial tree

Plans for a memorial to slain children have been approved by a Capitol committee, said Cindy Edwards, Buildings and Grounds Division administrator.

"Members of the Capitol Complex Master Planning Committee agreed to the memorial," she said. "They thought it was great to be able to have some kind of beautification on Capitol grounds."

Carson City resident Tonja Brown asked in November to plant a tree to honor children murdered in Nevada.

She said she was prompted by the recent controversy over the removal of a memorial cross to Krystal Steadman, 9, along Highway 50 West near Spooner Summit.

The cross marked the nearby spot where Krystal's brutalized body was found the morning after she went missing from a Stateline apartment complex.

In September, through an attorney, an unnamed Reno man threatened to sue the Department of Transportation, which maintains the state right-of-way, saying the cross violated the separation of church and state and was a distraction to motorists.

It was taken down in December by the state. It is being kept by a caretaker until the department drafts a policy on roadside memorials.

Brown's plans include planting a red maple, surrounded by a wrought-iron bench, with a plaque that features up to five children's faces.

She estimates the cost of the memorial to be around $8,000 and is working with the Attorney General's Office to set up a tax-free account for donations.

Brown said she hopes to have the tree planted by spring.

Contact F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.

BREAKOUT:

To donate money to the memorial tree project or for more information, contact Tonja Brown at nvmemorialfund@aol.com