Mom wins battle to leave flowers in memory of slain teen
Peachland, B.C., council makes exception for grieving mother to put flowers on daughter's memorial bench
A grieving mother in Peachland, B.C., will once again be allowed to put flowers on a memorial bench dedicated to her slain daughter.
The council voted this week to make an exception for Charrie Fichter, whose 16-year-old daughter Ashlee Hyatt died after being stabbed in 2010.
Fichter had been placing flowers on a memorial bench dedicated to her daughter since the bench was installed in 2011.
But this spring, municipal staff started removing the flowers after receiving complaints. The municipality has a bylaw prohibiting anyone from leaving flowers or other items on memorial benches.
In September, councillors voted on a motion that would have allowed Fichter to leave flowers on her daughter's bench, but the motion was defeated in a close vote.
Those who voted against the motion pointed out Peachland has more than 100 memorial benches and argued changing the bylaw would set a bad precedent.
'Everyone grieves in a different way'
Two weeks ago, Councillor Mario Vucinovic introduced a new motion that would grant an exception to Fichter allowing her to attach flower holders to the bench.
That motion ended in a tie vote, which meant it was ultimately defeated.
But Mayor Cindy Fortin, who was away on a family emergency and didn't participate in that vote, decided to exercise her mayoral powers to put the motion back on the agenda.
"I believe in the democratic process and just because you don't believe in a decision you can't keep bringing it back," she said. "[But] there were special circumstances — the fact that I wasn't there and Councillor Keith Thom sent out a press release saying he was going to bring it back for reconsideration."
A new vote on Tuesday finally allowed the motion to pass and paved the way for Fichter to start leaving flowers for her lost daughter again.
"Everyone grieves in a different way ... in this case, we'll just make the exception and allow her to continue because she's been doing it for years," the mayor said.
Council will now write an amendment to the bylaw that will create an exception for Fichter.
With files from Daybreak South
To hear the interview, click on the link labelled Peachland council allows flowers on memorial bench again