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Schools

Memorial Garden Planned in Honor of David Heard

Easton Area Middle School will pay tribute to late student.

A memorial garden to student is planned for Easton Area Middle School, the school's principal Charlene Symia told the school board's Finance Standing Committee meeting Thursday evening.

To be named “David's Memorial Garden of Peace” and located on the 5th/6th-grade campus, the garden will feature two trees, a statue of a crane to commemorate David's project to build origami crane mobiles for children's cancer hospitals and a bench dedicated to Easton Police Officer Tim Lambert, formerly the school's safety officer before his death about two years ago, Symia told the committee, all of whom had tears in their eyes during the description.

David Heard passed away after a long battle with neuroblastoma on Feb. 10.

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The choice behind the garden was picked by David's classmates and his parents are “highly supportive,” she said.

In addition, the Heard family has donated more than 200 books from David's collection to the school library and have pledged to provide funding for the library to purchase all of the yearly “Young Readers” selection annually, Symia said.

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The Heards also plan to provide a scholarship, to be named “Embrace Life,” for a 2018 EAHS graduate, the year their son would have graduated high school. While final details still need to be set up with the district, the recipient will be determined by a 1000-word essay contest judged by a panel. The scholarship will provide $3,000 per year for four years of college, Symia said.

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