SEP 16, 2019
Commissioners propose compromise memorial to child
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Don’t let Nalani Johnson be forgotten; keep her memory alive, area residents have said.
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Sentiment for a local memorial, so strong that it prompted mourners to start an online petition drive, called for renaming Indiana County-owned Pine Ridge Park as Nalani Johnson Park instead.
And if not that, then a playground or a bench within the park should honor her, petition leader Nadia Tillman wrote on the
change.org website that is collecting the petition signatures.
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The Indiana County board of commissioners, who have ultimate control over the park, today joined the sentimental response to Nalani Johnson’s tragic death but said a memorial close to her family would be most appropriate.
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In a prepared statement issued this morning, the commissioners took middle ground.
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“The commissioners will consult with members of the Parks and Trails Advisory Board for guidance on the placement of a memorial bench in her honor,” the commissioners wrote. “However, we feel that a toddler park would be better suited to a location closer to her own home, as opposed to here in Indiana County, and urge organizers to work with her family to help that happen.”
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“I think it’s the family’s decision, whether to have a memorial here. It makes more sense to have memorial where that little girl lived and played, rather than them having to drive up the highway,” Krivansky told The Gazette.
“The kids around here — they didn’t know that little girl, and I don’t know of any ties they had to the community. I feel the little girl needs to be honored in some way but it should be up to the family, rather than a petition from people who didn’t know her.”
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Nalani Johnson’s death remains under investigation by the Indiana County coroner’s office, the Allegheny County police and the Allegheny County district attorney.
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