Memorial created for fallen police, firefighters

NEWBERRY – The Newberry Public Safety Complex, located at 1507 Nance Street, is now home to a memorial for fallen City of Newberry police officers and firefighters thanks to a generous donation.

Tami Taylor, owner of La-T-Da’s Garden Creation, LLC in Spartanburg reached out to Police Chief Kevin Goodman last year after the passing of Lt. Michael Wood, wanting to do a memorial garden in his honor.

“She advised that she goes around the state doing memorials at no cost for departments that lose officers in the line of duty,” Goodman said.

Goodman said it had been a desire of his since becoming chief to have a memorial for fallen officers. The idea had been shared with Keith Minick, former fire chief and now current Chief Gene Shealy and they echoed the same desires, Goodman said.

“When Tami met with me to look at the building layout, I shared with her about our previous plans to do a memorial for both police and fire between the two employee entrances,” Goodman said. “She fell in love with the idea and it took off from there.”

The statues in the memorial were donated by Taylor and the mulch was a donation from The Original Landscape Supply in Chapin. Members of both the police and fire departments also donated their time to help assist in pulling everything together.

“It is great to finally memorialize our fallen firefighters and police officers in the city,” said Shealy. “These are sacrifices that should be recognized by future generations of staff and citizens.”

Shealy said the city was truly appreciative of Taylor and the teamwork that made this a reality.