The Cranberry Eagle
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 Article published February 4, 2013

Fundraiser set for memorial at pool
2 young boys died in Jan. 9 car crash

Paula Grubbs
Cranberry Eagle

ZELIENOPLE — A restaurant will hold a unique fundraiser to memorialize the young lives of a toddler and his infant brother who were killed in a one-car accident during a freak ice storm on Jan. 9.
The Jackson Fish Company Market Cafe in Creekside Plaza will sell a chicken dinner for four from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 10. The dinners will cost $35.
The meals will be available for dine-in or takeout, but reservations for either are required by calling the restaurant at 724-473-0890 between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m.
All proceeds will go toward a memorial in the pool area of Zelienople/Harmony Community Park for Liam Bintrim, 3, and Declan McCollough, 11 months, who were passengers in their mother’s vehicle on the day of the unexpected storm. A rollover crash resulted in the death of the brothers, who were in their car seats.
Alecia Flood of the Zelienople Friends of the Park and the park’s manager said the family frequently visited the pool. Flood said the family initially expressed interest in a park bench memorializing the boys, but is now considering a memorial rock or leaves on the pool’s “Tree of Life.”
The bronze tree contains leaves made of silver, gold or bronze in honor of or in memory of the person of the buyer’s choice. Rocks engraved with memorial poems or phrases are near the tree.
Flood said once fundraising is done at the end of February, the family will decide on the type of memorial. Any remaining money will be donated to the family.
Andrew Courson, general manager of the restaurant, said more than 50 reservations have been taken so far. He has set a goal of selling 200 dinners.
“Because of this local tragedy, we felt it would be something that would be good for the family,” Courson said.
Flood said she remembers Liam splashing happily in the baby pool with his parents and siblings. Declan’s obituary described the brothers as “little water boys.”
She said Friends of the Park will donate a family pool pass to the boys’ family as well.
“Our hearts go out to the family,” said Flood, “and we just want to do whatever we can to help honor the two boys.”
Donations for the boys’ memorial also can be made by calling Zelienople Friends of the Park at 724-452-0231.