Thousands expected at Chelsea King memorial service
Thousands of mourners are expected to fill Poway High School Stadium on Saturday for a memorial service for Chelsea King, who was murdered Feb. 25 during a run in a Rancho Bernardo park.
The service will begin at 2 p.m. and probably last until 4 p.m. at 15500 Espola Road, said Poway Unified School District officials, who added that the planning is being done by someone close to the King family.
Little about the content of the event has been released, but music, as well as memories about a classmate who was loved, reached out to others through peer counseling efforts, ran track and cross country, played the French horn and volunteered in the community, will likely provide an uplifting atmosphere to those on campus.
Erin Leonard, a Poway High student and school representative who attends school board meetings, said everyone is calling the event a celebration of Chelsea’s life.
Earlier in the week Mike Cook, director of Poway High’s instrumental music program, said that he was helping to select music that would be appropriate for the event and reflect King’s energetic and congenial nature.
King was first chair of the school’s French horn section for the symphony, “a vital part of who we were,” Cook said.
Traci Barker-Ball, director of peer counseling, said that she knew of at least four students who would be reminiscing about King during the ceremony.
“I think it will be good for them, good for all of us to hear those memories of Chelsea,” Barker-Ball said.
It would not surprise her to see a stadium awash in orange, the teen’s favorite color, or possibly, blue, a reminder of King’s blue eyes.
After King was reported missing, blue ribbons were tied to lampposts, trees and various objects on campus and throughout the community.
School district officials are expecting 5,000 people, or possibly more, according to Tim Purvis, Poway Unified’s director of transportation.
A fleet of school buses will provide shuttle service for those who want to park off-site, starting at 12:30 p.m. Riders will be asked to show a special pass to ride the buses, but details about how the public would get passes was not available at press time.
Four locations have been selected for the shuttles: Lake Poway, 14644 Lake Poway Road; Living Way Church, 13609 Twin Peaks Road; Christian Life Assembly, 14047 Twin Peaks Road; and an empty lot near Fire Station #2, off Espola Road and Westling Court in the Old Coach area.
According to Purvis, the buses will make a continual loop to pick up passengers and will also check for those who might arrive after 2 p.m.
It was unclear at press time whether attendees will need a ticket for admission.
More information about the memorial service will be posted as it is released later this week. Go to the Pomerado Newspaper Group site at www.MyLocalNews.com, or check on the family’s Facebook site, Chelsea’s Light.
Short URL: http://www.pomeradonews.com/?p=6807
Posted by 
