April 3, 2004

Memorial, lawsuit remind area of deaths

Today's Ithaca Journal has two stories which are reminders of very different but very sad moments in the Dryden area's history.

Members of communities surrounding Eglin Air Force Base, in Florida, have built a memorial and a road in memory of Patrick Griffin Jr., a graduate of Dryden High School who was killed in Iraq last year and is buried in Willow Glen Cemetery.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court reversed a verdict awarding $1.8 million to the family of Dryden teacher and coach Steve Starr for negligence by the Cortland County Sheriff's Department. The case revolved around the 1994 release of Jonathan Merchant on bail and his subsequent murder of Starr, despite the department's promise of protection.

Posted by simon at April 3, 2004 9:31 AM in ,
Note on photos