Funding for Columbine memorial starts

LITTLETON, Colo. -- The first memorial to victims of the Columbine High School massacre was a simple bouquet of red tulips left next to a leafless tree just hours after the April 20, 1999, shootings.

Today is the fourth anniversary of the attack, and fund raising has begun for the biggest memorial yet: a $3 million structure featuring a tribute to each of the 13 victims.

Organizers hope the Columbine memorial will be built in time for the fifth anniversary.

In the worst school shooting in U.S. history, 12 students and a teacher died before the gunmen committed suicide.

As they grieved, victims' relatives, students and school officials created a foundation to replace the bullet-scarred library where 10 students died.

They raised $3.1 million to build a new library and convert the old one to an atrium in 2001.

"The library had to be done first," Rohrbough said.

Now the foundation hopes to raise another $3 million for a one-acre memorial near Clement Park.

Walls of running water will mute surrounding noise. Enclosed within the 12-foot walls will be a ring of remembrance with tributes written by the victims' families. Some of the families have already started writing the text.

About $600,000 has been committed so far, organizers said.

"It has taken longer than expected," said Bob Easton, who runs the memorial project for the Foothills Park and Recreation District Foundation.

One thing the memorial will not bring is closure, Rohrbough said.

"I think all the families know there is no point at which this ends," he said.

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On the Net:

Columbine Memorial http://www.columbinememorial.org