Honor Florissant, St. Louis Area Fallen Heroes This Weekend

Story written by Maggie Rotermund.

The St. Louis Metropolitan area has lost 139 first responders since 1959. This weekend, the STL Crane Project will honor them by covering Art Hill with 1,000 paper cranes.

Florissant has has three first responders on the list. They are:

• Marion Reiff, Dec. 28, 1963
• Jay Noser – Oct. 7, 2008
• Glennon Ferneau – May 29, 2009

The project began in 2012, when the group honored 133 first responders. In 2013, the group will add six more names to that list. 

The Crane Project will display its large paper cranes in Forest Park on Aug. 17-18. The cranes were originally scheduled to be on display earlier in the month but inclement weather pushed the date back. 

The six new fallen heroes include Chesterfield Police Department members Joseph Smith and Christopher Simpson. Christopher R. Parsons of the Washington County Sheriff's Office, Jeffery Hudson, St. Louis City Fire Department; Timothy P. Jansen, Santa Fe Fire Protection District; and Kyle W. Deatherage of the Illinois State Police will also be honored. 

The cranes will be sold for $10. One hundred percent of the funds raised will go to The Backstoppers, an organization that provides financial assistance to the families of St. Louis area first responders killed in the line of duty, and Responder Rescue. 

"CMS Marketing is sponsoring us this year — they are paying for all the paper," said Rick Ruderer, Director STL Crane Project.

Cranes can be purchased ahead of time by going to the STL Crane Project's web site.