A tree for Sabrina Ray was planted Saturday afternoon in Wiese Park by a small group of mourners of the 16-year-old girl from Perry who died last month of severe malnutrition.
Amanda Howard, Brian West and Heather Watson organized the event, called Planting a Flowing Cherry Tree in Honor of Sabrina Ray, with support from friends and neighbors.
Arrangements for the tree, a royal raindrop crabapple tree, were made by Project 52, an Urbandale charity group organized by Dustin Blythe and Bill Clark.
The tree was planted near the playground equipment in the eastern portion of the park. A concrete pad for a memorial bench with plaque has been poured, and the bench will be placed in the next few weeks.
“Project 52 is arriving there at 12:30 pm to start work on digging the hole for Sabrina’s tree and her plaque,” Howard said. “This is amazing.”
Howard said the group is also looking into setting up a memorial scholarship for Sabrina Ray.
Blythe spoke briefly about Project 52, which was founded in 2006 following the murder of his son, Treye Blythe, 18, of Ackley. The young Blythe wore number 52 when he played for the AGWSR High School football team, and Project 52 was named in his honor.
The tree for Sabrina Ray is the 250th planted by Project 52, Blythe said. Howard was invited to sign the shovel used to fill in the soil around the tree. She signed the shovel and tossed in some soil before passing the shovel on to Watson, who in turn passed it to West.
Everyone present added a measure of soil to the tree.