{"id":24199,"date":"2021-10-14T23:14:21","date_gmt":"2021-10-15T02:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=24199"},"modified":"2021-10-14T23:14:21","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T02:14:21","slug":"memorial-garden-created-featuring-tribute-benches-for-shubenacadie-victims-of-n-s-mass-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=24199","title":{"rendered":"Memorial garden created, featuring tribute benches for Shubenacadie victims of N.S. mass shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;78&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;111&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SHUBENACADIE:<\/strong> As you get out of your car at Rex McCoul Park in Shubenacadie, you once were greeted by a gazebo and lots of green grass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, just beyond the gazebo, you are met with a beautiful Memorial Garden dedicated to the three victims of the April 2020 mass-shooting, whose lives were ended in Shubenacadie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>East Hants RCMP Const. Heidi Stevenson, Joey Webber and Gina Goulet are remembered in this garden featuring memorial benches which were recently installed to complete the tribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The three were among the 22 victims (and an unborn child) killed by a gunman during a 13-hour period, from Portapique to Shubenacadie, before police shot and killed him at the Irving Big Stop in Enfield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shubenacadie Community Development Association (SCDA) volunteer board member, Shirley Peach, brought forward the idea. She envisioned a place where friends, family, and community members of Shubenacadie, East Hants, and indeed all of Nova Scotia, could reflect on the lives of our three fallen community members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate group=&#8221;2&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;145&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Al MacLeod, president of the SCDA, said when the concept came forward, no one hesitated in supporting it. It was done at a time people were feeling helpless and were left wondering what they could do to show the families they cared.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEveryone got behind the idea and we had a lot of support from the local businesses in the plans,\u201d he said on Oct. 13. \u201cIt\u2019s been a process, but it\u2019s finally come to fruition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Memorial Garden for the three Shubenacadie NS Mass Shooting victims installed\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tNsJkCxstYI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>MacLeod said the memorial garden is now completed and people can visit the area whenever they like. The SCDA wants the community to understand the project was their way of helping the victims\u2019 families, and the community of Shubenacadie, to heal from such an unthinkable event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEveryone felt so helpless in the wake of the tragedy,\u201d said MacLeod. \u201cIt impacted our little community here in Shubenacadie. It&#8217;s just a way of recognizing those who were lost here in Shubenacadie and the tragedy overall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;127&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;123&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you enter the park from Highway 2, you can go right or left along a gravel walkway, and it takes you up to the beautifully designed tribute. Shrubs and flowers are planted around a paved semi-circle formation where the three metal benches are; with names of Webber, Const. Stevenson and Goulet adorned on each one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/IMG_8008-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-24200\" width=\"533\" height=\"349\"\/><figcaption>Joey Webber&#8217;s memorial bench in Shubenacadie. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Webber\u2019s bench is blue with the back of it designed with the crossed checkered flags to represent his racing pursuits, and a horseshoe, emblematic of his talent as a horseman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/IMG_8017-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-24202\" width=\"521\" height=\"334\"\/><figcaption>Gina Goulet&#8217;s bench at the memorial garden in Rex McCoul Park in Shubenacadie. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Goulet\u2019s memorial bench is yellow, has palm trees and water symbols on the left and right, and a central cancer ribbon pulled from either side by two hummingbirds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/IMG_8012-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-24201\" width=\"560\" height=\"365\"\/><figcaption>The memorial bench for East Hants RCMP Const. Heidi Stevenson, killed in the line of duty in Shubenacadie on April 19, 2020. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Const. Stevenson\u2019s bench is emblazoned in RCMP red with the sayings \u201cUphold the Right\u201d written across the back from left to right and \u201cMaintiens le Droit\u201d from bottom left to upper right. The back of the bench has an RCMP Musical Ride Horse etched in it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Const. Stevenson had been a member of the RCMP Musical Ride for three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate group=&#8221;6&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;127&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>MacLeod said a great deal of hands made it possible. He wanted to acknowledge the efforts of the community in making the memorial garden a reality: Anne Perry at Pro Green Landscaping; KelGreg Enterprises; Velocity Machining (creators of the benches); donations from Shaw Brick; Elmsdale Landscaping; the Municipality of East Hants; Wee Delivery; and contributions from private individuals and groups in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere have been many in the community coming together for this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said he has reached out to Goulet\u2019s daughter, Webber\u2019s sister, and the RCMP liaison working with Const. Stevenson\u2019s family, to make them aware the memorial benches were installed in the completed garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>MacLeod hopes the community will use the memorial for what it\u2019s meant to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe hope people use it for a chance to have some quiet reflection,\u201d said MacLeod. \u201cThis tragedy has impacted everyone in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate group=&#8221;9&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;84&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;78&#8243;] [adrotate banner=&#8221;111&#8243;] SHUBENACADIE: As you get out of your car at Rex McCoul Park in Shubenacadie, you once were greeted by a gazebo and lots of green grass. Now, just beyond the gazebo, you are met with a beautiful Memorial Garden dedicated to the three victims of the April 2020 mass-shooting, whose lives [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[965,12],"tags":[1052,196,1581,1047,1048,2675,1137,1046,14,1044],"class_list":["post-24199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-hants","category-featured","tag-const-heidi-stevenson","tag-east-hants","tag-east-hants-rcmp","tag-gina-goulet","tag-joey-webber","tag-memorial-garden","tag-n-s-mass-shooting","tag-portapique","tag-rcmp","tag-shubenacadie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24199\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}