05-05-2025
Roanoke honors lives lost to gun violence with oak trees at local parks
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — The Roanoke Gun Violence Prevention Commission kicked off its 'Planting Peace,' initiative on Saturday by planting six oak trees each at both Horton and Perry Parks.
The initiative honors lives lost to gun violence and each tree represents one unsolved murder case in hopes of bringing forward new information.
'Homicide is an unspeakable trauma and the fact that these unfortunately remain unsolved at this point is an added trauma,' said local pastor and GVPC co-chair Tim Harvey.
Every tree will be dedicated to the family of the victim it represents in individual ceremonies to be held throughout the summer, but a few families came out Saturday to take part in the planting itself.
'The families have been crying out for so many years that it's probably just like white noise,' said Renea Taylor. 'But now, for the city to lend their voice and say, 'No, we as a city have not forgotten, these are unsolved homicides.''
Taylor lost her father to gun violence in 1998, before losing her brother the same way just seven years later.
She has waited more than two decades for answers, and is hoping the Planting Peace initiative will provide them.
'I'm hoping that someone somewhere will have a level of consciousness and say, 'You know what, I saw that. I was there, or I heard about that, and it's been 20 years, 27 years, and I need to say something,'' said Taylor.
'Maybe that last piece of information is out there somewhere and maybe someone can still come forward with that piece and help close the case,' said Harvey.
The family of Thomas Hairston also joined the group at Horton Park Saturday morning.
They were able to pick the tree that would represent a lost husband, brother, and son, before grabbing shovels and helping with the planting itself.
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'I felt like he's still alive,' said Hairston's 'bonus mom,' Juanettia Hairston. 'I know he is in our memory, but this tree is like a special symbol.'
The tree could not be a more fitting symbol for Hairston.
'He had a chair sitting up in the trees behind our house where he would just go and sit and just look at nature and watch the deer go by and stuff like that,' said Thomas Hairston's wife, ToRhonda C. Hairston. 'So, this would be very special to him like it is to us.'
The trees are various species of oak, and could live upwards of 150 years, standing as lasting symbols for the community and families of the victims.
'They live with this pain, year-in and year-out with an empty chair at the dining room table,' said GVPC member Catherine Koebel. 'And you feel like the community moves on. But this is a symbol to them that the community has not moved on and we do remember them and we do stand with them.'
They also serve a scientific purpose, as Planting Peace organizers point out that the trees will work to lower the ambient temperature, which they hope will contribute to a decrease in gun violence.
'For every one degree increase in temperature, you actually see a direct correlation with an increase in homicides,' said Koebel.
The hope is that in helping to lower the temperature in the parks they're located, the trees will also contribute to a decrease in tempers.
Dates are still being set for individual dedication ceremonies, but they will all take place over the next several months.
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