Construction Begins on New Heath High Memorial

Members of the community gathered Tuesday evening for a groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of a new memorial to honor the victims of the deadly shooting nearly two decades ago at Heath High School.

The current memorial on the Heath Middle School campus is only accessible to the public at certain times due to security restrictions. Christina Ellegood, whose sister Nicole Hadley was among three students killed in the shooting, said the new memorial across the street from the school will allow visitors unrestricted access any time they want to come and remember lost love ones.

"People can access it at any time, and it can be a place where people can come and reflect on the good times and the bad times. For me, I want this to be something positive. It gives me a place that I can come and think about the fun times that we had with my sister, and what she meant to me." Ellegood said. 

Ellegood took controls of an excavator and dug into the ground as a large crowd cheered her on. This officially began construction that is set to be complete by December 1, the 20th anniversary of the shooting. She said donations are still being accepted in the form of materials and/or money to fund the new memorial, which has a projected cost of $80,000.

"We plan on having a ceremony for the 20-year anniversary of the shooting and plan to do a ribbon cutting at that time, and be able to unveil the final product." Ellegood said.

Anyone who wishes to make a donation to help fund the memorial can mail a check made out to Heath High School Memorial to:

Community Foundation of West Kentucky
P.O. Box 7
Paducah, KY 42002