ZELIENOPLE — This community that a year ago suffered the loss of three young men continues its grieving today.

But it has also come together to bring some good from the tragedy.

Wednesday will mark one year since the young men drowned when their SUV plunged into an ice-covered lake.

Samuel Bucci, Trevor Barkley and Elijah Lunsford died when their vehicle went off an icy road into the lake, just outside of Zelienople.

All were Seneca Valley High School seniors, and Bucci and Lunsford were Zelienople Volunteer Fire Department firefighters. Barkley was considering joining the department.

“The healing is still on for us and especially for the families,” said Donald Pepe, borough manager.

There have been some positive efforts resulting from that tragedy. A number of people have done a lot for the families involved and for the community, he said.

The fire department has raised money for the scholarship funds and residents have worked on a proposed skate park at the Zelienople Community Park.

Pepe has talked to two of the three families during the past year and is amazed at how they have been able to deal with their loss.

“They've been able to make something so hard into a positive effort. I don't know how they do it,” he said.

A spaghetti dinner on Dec. 3 to benefit the planned memorial skate park raised nearly $50,000 for its construction.

It had been Barkley's dream to have a skate park in the community park.

His parents have spearheaded the effort to raise money for the park that will continue this year.

The skate park would be in honor of the three young men along with Seneca Valley graduate Geoff Gutzwiller, who was an avid skateboarder who also died at a young age.

The park's cost, which would include relocating the basketball court, is estimated at $400,000.

Zelienople Police Chief Jim Miller, whose department responded to the accident a year ago, discussed its impact. He talked with officers about the accident in the weeks following.

“People deal with these things in different ways. Police officers kind of have the tough macho side to them and don't show their emotions,” said Miller, adding that the officers who were at the accident were seasoned and have dealt with many tough situations over the years.

“But,” he added, “officers do need help from time to time.”

One of the things that helped the Zelienople firefighters, said Miller, was when the emergency call came, the Big Knob Volunteer Fire Department from nearby New Sewickley Township, Beaver County, was dispatched.

When the 911 dispatcher learned that Zelienople firefighters might be involved, the dispatcher did not send Zelienople firefighters to the scene, he said.

However, Fire Chief Rob Reeb and former chief Drew Mathew learned of the accident and did go there.

The majority of the Zelienople department had assisted on several calls that night and didn't know about the call for the three young men until later in the day.

The Seneca Valley School District also was deeply affected by the tragedy because Bucci, Barkley and Lunsford were seniors ready to graduate.

“As with tragedy of this nature, Seneca Valley provided the necessary counseling for students and staff as long as was needed,” said Superintendent Donald Tylinski.

“The impact these young men made on the lives of their fellow classmates and the staff here at Seneca Valley was profound and certainly never to be forgotten. On this difficult first anniversary, we will celebrate their lives and focus on the positives they brought to our own.”

The sadness was felt at the 2010 Seneca Valley graduation as 509 classmates remembered their three lost friends.

Relatives of the young men accepted their posthumous diplomas.

Tylinski recently was named the recipient of the 2010 Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators Instructional Leader Award. As part of that award, Lincoln Investment Planning contributes $1,000 to a cause of the winner's choice.

Tylinski donated that money to the scholarship that was set up in the name of the three young men. He chose to divide the $1,000 among these newly established scholarships.

Butler County Community College received $30,000 from the Zelienople Volunteer Fire Department to set up three permanent scholarships in memory of Bucci, Barkley and Lunsford.

The money was presented in October to the college's education foundation.

The funds donated by the fire department and the community established three individual scholarships: the Samuel Bucci Memorial Scholarship, the Trevor Barkley Memorial Scholarship and the Elijah Lunsford Memorial Scholarship. These scholarships will be awarded for the fall 2011 semester.

In February, Ray Steffler, chairman of the BC3 board of trustees, initiated a call for support to fund a scholarship in their honor.

The Seneca Valley High School Memorial Scholarship was established and awarded to three Seneca Valley graduates for the fall 2010 semester.

“A Celebration of Life” honoring Bucci, Barkley and Lunsford will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Gregory Roman Catholic Church.

The Rev. Robert Keplinger of English Lutheran Church in Zelienople, who is the fire department's chaplain, said the department wanted to do something to remember them.

Young members of the congregation also wanted to do something.

Organizers decided to have an event for the community.

“It's going to be a celebration of their lives. Several friends and young firefighters will speak. We're going to keep things positive,” Keplinger said.

Mathew said, “We're coming together to celebrate life instead of death.”

Linda Gass, Barkley's mother, said it's nice that the community is helping to keep the memory of the three young men alive.

Gass and her husband plan to attend the event, though she said it will be hard.

The word she used to describe her feelings during the past year is “awful.”

But her work helping to raise money for the skateboard park and the support of family and friends have helped, she said.