May 5, 2004 By Patty Shultz 2 min read

CONNELLSVILLE – Cooler temperatures Tuesday did not deter elementary and junior high students from their annual flower planting duties at the city Veterans Memorial. Representatives from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, city street department and Shade Tree Commission, along with students from the Zachariah Connell Elementary School and members of the National Honor Society from the two junior high schools and other local volunteers donned their gardening gloves to plant hundreds of flowers at the Route 119 and Pittsburgh Street memorial.

“I love this day and the kids have a lot of fun,” said Vernon Ohler, street department foreman, as he watched the fourth-graders place mulch around the freshly planted Disco Mix marigolds, Celosia and Canna.

Each year a different garden color theme is chosen for the site, added Ohler, with the 2004 effort being designated as red, orange and yellow.

Elementary teachers Jane Petrun and Terry Pieczynski, along with honor society sponsors Don Grenaldo and Sally McDermott, helped supervise the gardening activity that began several days ago for the elementary students in the classroom where they honed their skills.

“We’ve been doing this about six years and each year the students get so excited when they see the flowers start to grow,” said Petrun.

This was the first year for Councilman Brad Geyer to participate in the event.

“Everyone is having a really great time,” he said.

Others assisting with the project were David Reed, who served as publicity director and McDonald’s, which provided lunch for the workers.

Ohler said that DiMarco’s Nursery would tend the garden during the summer months.