McCarver 5th Graders Thank Council Today

The City Council study session today was something a little different and quite special. The meeting, held in Council Chambers, was packed with community leaders from several organizations and row after row of 5th graders from McCarver Elementary. The students, invited by Councilmember Walker, were here to thank the City Council for supporting the Zina Linnik project – the improvements to McCarver and Wright Parks in memory of Zina Linnik.

Zina was a 5th grader at McCarver Elementary School when she was kidnapped from behind her home and murdered. Nearly two years later, her memory continues to have an impact on the students and staff of the school as well as the community. From that event came this project to improve the parks with state-of-the-art playground equipment and Ukrainian Art. The City of Tacoma kicked in $100k last year. At the same time, a long list of other organizations have worked to see the vision come together including the Metro Parks Foundation, the City of Tacoma, the University of Washington, and many many others.

The students from McCarver have been integral in the process. They’ve worked with architects. They’ve spelled out a vision. They went to Olympia last week to lobby for funding. And, they were here today to thank the Council.

Several students approached the podium and explained why the city’s support was important and why it mattered. They talked about renewal. They they talked about rebuilding. It was quite amazing to see. When it was all said and done, they received a standing ovation from the Council and audience. It was not like any other study session I have attended.

That said, this wasn’t really an update on the project as a whole. We hope to hear more about where that stands soon.