County will share details at June 12 unveiling
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In the hours and days after the Pulse nightclub shooting on June 12, 2016, makeshift memorials spring up, like at the hair salon victims Juan Rivera Velasquez and Luis Daniel Conde ran in Kissimmee. Osceola County plans a permanent tribute. FILE PHOTO
This June will mark eight years since the tragic death of 49 club goers and the harm of many others at the Pulse nightclub near downtown Orlando.
While the city of Orlando and owners of the land the bustling night spot sat on continue to negotiate and plan for a true memorial to those lost and the heroic actions of lifesavers on June 12, 2016, Osceola County leaders are moving forward on building a fitting tribute to the victims.
Some of them lived or had direct ties to Osceola County; neighbors such as Simon Carrillo-Fernandez, 31, a resident of The Oaks, who perished along with his partner Oscar Aracena-Montero, 26. Juan Rivera Velazquez, 37, and Luis Daniel Conde, 39, ran a hairstyling salon on Osceola Parkway. Amanda Alvear, a 25-year-old nursing student, lived in Davenport but had many local family members.
At Monday’s County Commission meeting, Chairwoman Cheryl Grieb got approval from fellow commissioners to go ahead with plans to construct a 49-foot tall structure — a height that honors the number of those who perished that night — at Brownie Wise Park, near the east banks of Lake Toho off of Neptune Road.
“I met with family members who lost loved ones, those who were shot and affected by the tragedy. I’ve become friends with them,” she said. “A group had asked me to have something here in Osceola County. Many of those affected live here.”
Many sites were considered, but Grieb said Brownie Wise Park is a more tranquil setting away from development so friends and family can pay respects without being overwhelmed by the Orlando site.
“I don’t want people taking it as, ‘This is the memorial that should have happened,’” Grieb said. “It’s important to those here that those 49 angels are never forgotten.”
An unveiling of the plans will be held Wednesday, June 12 (the shooting anniversary) at 1:30 p.m. in the county administrative building’s outdoor square.
Grieb said she’s worked with local artist Jefre, who she worked with as the Kissimmee City Commission went through the Lakefront redesign and had come up with plans for a water feature that ultimately wasn’t included in that park project.
