ESSEX, Vt. (AP) - A new weather vane to honor a Vermont teacher killed in a 2006 school shooting in Essex has been installed after the original one was stolen earlier this year.
Family and friends of Alicia Shanks gathered Thursday to put the turtle weather vane on top of the gazebo at the Essex Elementary School.
“Everyone pulled together - it’s a caring community,” said Shanks’ husband, Steve.
The weather vane and gazebo were erected as a memorial to Shanks, who was killed at a shooting in the school in 2006 by a man who had just broken up with his girlfriend.
For Steve Shanks, the gazebo is a place to honor her. “I come out here frequently to take care of the gardens and check on the gazebo, kinda help maintain it and it’s a great place to come for solitude,” he said.
When he learned in January that the large copper weather van had been stolen, he said he was a little angry and “absolutely sad.”
“It’s pretty personal, and I’m assuming that the people that took it had no idea about what it represents to the community, to me,” he said. He contacted local sculptor Jack Chase who agreed to recreate the weather vane. Two anonymous donors said they wanted to cover the cost, he said.
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