Hazelwood Police Explorers Clean Up Memorial Garden

Planting boxwood shrubs and flowers is what one group of teens dedicated to their community did recently. While other teens may be working or just hanging out this summer, those in Police Explorers Post #9217 have made a commitment to keep  a beautiful place in the .

“We believe this landscaping project is a great way of connecting these youth and their young minds to the idea of giving something back to their community and adding to the beauty of their neighborhood,” Hazelwood Police Chief Carl Wolf told Hazelwood communications coordinator Tim Davidson. “It also gives them an opportunity to reflect on the dedication it takes to choose law enforcement as a career and to honor fellow police officers who made the ultimate sacrifice to serve and protect their community.”

The park, which is located behind on North Lindbergh Boulevard contains stutes of a police officer and firefighter representing the men an women who risk thier lives every day for public safety.

“Battery Park is a unique community garden in that its purpose is to create a place of solitude where people can go to pay tribute and remember police officers, firefighters and paramedics who lost their lives in the line of duty,” said Randy Tempel, CAASTL community garden coordinator. "It requires more landscaping compared to the other 11 community gardens we maintain in St. Louis County."

The owner of Complete Auto Body, Bob Barks, is the one who came up with the idea to create a memorial honoring fallen first-responders and donated the land behind his business after a near-fatal heart attack in which first responders saved his life.

“I decided to create a memorial park behind my business," he said of the event. "My future plans include installing a 4’x 8’ granite wall that lists all the names of our fallen heroes in the St. Louis area.

To read more about the park see: