Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, along with members of his staff and area volunteers, renovated a local Holocaust memorial at West Hills Park on April 17.  Mayor Burchett and his staff coordinated the event because they believe it is important to remember those who died during that dark period in world history.

“It is extremely important that we do not allow ourselves to forget about that period of history, the lives that were impacted or the sacrifices that were made by those who fought for what was right,” Mayor Burchett said. “Placing, protecting and maintaining memorials like the one at West Hills Park go a long way toward reminding us of just how precious our freedom really is.”

During the clean-up, Mayor Burchett and other volunteers picked up trash along the memorial, re-stacked the stone wall, put down sod and grass seed and even left a large bags of pebbles for individuals to place on the memorial as a symbol of their remembrance.

 “It was a beautiful day spent working with volunteers in a public park.  We were glad to do it,” Community Outreach Manager Jonathan Griswold said.

One of those volunteers included a Webb Middle School student, Lizzy Noon, who brought approximately a dozen volunteers to the event.  Noon used the clean-up for a community service component in her Hebrew class as she is planning for her Bat Mitzvah.

For more information about the event, or information on how to plan another civic project through the Knox County Office of Community Outreach, call 215-HELP.