Few Have Volunteered for Salon Shooting Memorial Committee

Today is the deadline to apply for a place on the Salon Meritage shooting Memorial Committee, and few people have come forward to volunteer for the committee that will help the city choose a permanent memorial for the eight people who lost their lives in the shooting.

At tonight’s City Council meeting, the Council will appoint the committee members who will meet at least twice to review suggestions for a memorial.

In an email to residents Sunday night, City Council Woman Ellery Deaton implored people to set up and help.

“The application for the committee needs to be in by Monday as the Council will be considering applications on Monday. At this time we have very few,” she wrote. “These dates were put together before the holidays and I'm afraid the word did not get out.”

In addition to committee members, the city is asking for community input on what kind of memorial should be erected. The deadline to fill out the city’s input forms is Jan. 13th. Among other things, community members are asked to share their ideas about where the memorial should go, what it should be, what the goal of the memorial should be, and what kind of fundraisers should be conducted to help pay for it (the committee application and memorial input for are attached to the right of this article. Completed forms must be sent to Tim Kelsey in the Community Services office or by email to tkelsey@sealbeachca.gov).

Last month, the city approved a timeline for the memorial, which would have it completed for unveiling at the one-year Oct. 12 anniversary of the shooting. The tight timeline leaves city officials little room to deviate from the schedule. If the city stays on schedule, the project would be approved in April and fundraising would begin immediately for July construction.

Eight people were killed in the salon shooting, including salon co-owner Randy Lee Fannin, 62; Victoria Ann Buzzo, 54; Lucia Bernice Kondas, 65; Laura Lee Elody, 46; Christy Lynn Wilson, 47; hairstylist Michelle Marie Fournier, 48; Michele Daschbach Fast, 47; and David Caouette, 64. Another woman who was shot -- 73-year-old Hattie Stretz -- survived.