Family, friends fight to honor Boy Scouts who died in crash
After the death of three Boy Scouts from Woodland Park, families and students are battling with grief, and also with their school district.
The fight is over whether memorials for 16-year-old Paul Kekich, 17-year-old Alex Ragan and 17-year-old Nick Naples will be allowed at Woodland Park High School after the boys died in a car crash coming home from Boy Scout camp in June.
After some say the district has been resistant to memorials for the students, more than a hundred people gathered at a Woodland Park church Monday to talk about their plans to go before the school board later this month.
“I really think the boys deserve some respect, and that’s not what they’re getting,” said Katey Hodges, who was dating Naples before he died. “They really deserve a lot more than what the school board has done.”
Initially, homemade memorials set up outside the high school were taken down by the superintendent before the first day of school. After months of discussions, the district decided to allow the memorials to stay up until the end of the school year.
The boys’ parents told KRDO Newschannel 13 that they were asked to sign a contract regarding the memorials, and were told the district did not approve of parents and students request for a shadowbox honoring Kekich to be placed in the high school.
“The big deal with the shadowbox for Paul is his brother is a freshmen this year and we want him to be able to see that for the next four years of high school,” said Zachary Menz, a friend of the boys.
Parents said the district has not responded as to whether Ragan and Naples will be recognized when their class graduates in the spring.
Woodland High students said they can’t believe how the school district has reacted to the deaths.
“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that we’re even here tonight,” said Reagan Rice.
“It’s just carried on so long, and that’s why a lot of us are here today,” said Josh Stover. “We want to get together and just finish it.”
The group who met Monday plans to go before the school board at it’s meeting on November 14th.
The school board and the superintendent have not provided KRDO with any comment.
