Town says no to flowers on slain teen's memorial bench

Peachland B.C.'s town council has rejected a proposal that would have allowed a grieving mother to continue putting flowers on a memorial bench dedicated to her slain daughter.

"They denied everything," said Charrie Fichter, whose 16-year-old daughter, Ashlee Hyatt died in 2010 after she was stabbed during a fight outside a house party.

An 18-year-old woman was later convicted of manslaughter in the killing.

In 2011, family friends paid to install a memorial bench dedicated to Hyatt overlooking Okanagan Lake.

For the next five years, Fichter and her family regularly visited the bench and attached flowers to it using zip ties.

But this spring, the District of Peachland received a complaint and staff started removing the flowers.

It turns out the district has a policy against people leaving flowers or other items on memorial benches.

This week, Peachland council took up a proposal that would have allowed Fichter to install two small flower holders on the bench. But it was defeated in a six-to-five vote.

Keith Thom, one of the city councillors who voted against the proposal, says allowing the flower holders would have created a bad precedent. He pointed out that Peachland has 121 memorial benches.

"My only reason for voting the way I did is because we have to multiply what we say can be done on one bench by 121 benches," he said. "I figure it's my job as an elected official to truly listen to constituents and the general public."

Thom said he's heard from some Peachland residents who don't want to see the town's memorial benches covered in flowers.

"I had a comment saying, 'I feel like I shouldn't sit on that bench because it's kind of a sacred place, and they're supposed to be public benches.'"

• Flowers removed from slain Okanagan teen's memorial bench after 5 years
• Teen sentenced for Peachland house party death
• Woman, 18, guilty of manslaughter in Ashlee Hyatt death
• Okanagan girl stabbed to death at house party

Fichter says the way this issue has been handled has caused her "a lot of heartache."

"It's honestly over something so ridiculous. Really, they've got bigger fish to fry than Ashlee's bench," she added.

The district has given her the option of installing a self-watering planter on the bench. But it would have to be purchased from the district at a cost of almost $600.

It's an option Fichter has rejected.

"That means nothing to me. It's so impersonal," she said.

Fichter's daughter, Brooklyn Chaput, has started an online petition calling on the district to allow flowers on Hyatt's memorial bench. After two days it had more than 700 signatures.