Stewartstown festival to be dedicated to Celina Cass tonight
People in the town of Stewartstown are moving forward with plans to host the annual Stewartstown Day festival tonight, which will be dedicated this year to Celina Cass, the 11-year-old West Stewartstown girl who was found dead in the Connecticut River six days after her family reported her missing.
Residents asked for advice from the N.H. State Police and town selectmen, who suggested to proceed with the festival.
Police are continuing their investigation into the cause Celina’s death. Results of an autopsy conducted on Tuesday, Aug. 2, are pending and the N.H. Attorney General’s office is now waiting for toxicology results. Celina was reportedly last seen at her Washington Street home in West Stewartstown around 9 p.m. on Monday, July 25. She was reported missing the next morning and N.H. Fish and Game divers found her body in the river about 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 1.
Tonight, opening ceremonies were held at the town park in West Stewartstown, less than a quarter of a mile from where Celina lived with her mother, sister and step-father.
Rev. Craig Cheney of the North American Martyrs parish, Pastor Rick Goss of the River of Life Worship Center and Pastor Rick Boyden of the Methodist churches provided sermons during the ceremony.
They were part of a memorial held in the park a few hours after it was announced that Celina’s body was discovered near a PSNH hydro dam which spans New Hampshire and Vermont. Following the dedication, there was a coronation of the Stewartstown Day queen and residents mingled in the park with vendors and music for entertainment.
At 10 a.m. Saturday, the Stewartstown Day festivities were scheduled to get underway with a parade that will pass by Celina’s home. Organizers have encouraged children to enter a float in the parade—noting the event is for them.
The public is invited to a Celebration of Life for Celina Cass on Monday evening, Aug. 8, at 6:30 p.m., in the Canaan Memorial Schools gymnasium, according to Stewartstown School nurse Kirsten Lyons, who has been a community spokesperson since Celina disappeared. Funeral services will be private.
“It is to give everyone in the community the opportunity to talk about Celina, and to know that she is at peace. We are going to celebrate the short life that she had,” said Lyons.
Plans for the service include opening sermons from the local clergy, music which will include recorded songs that have been heard at vigils held while the search for Celina was in progress, a slideshow arranged by the staff from the Stewartstown Community School where Celina would have entered the fifth grade in the fall, and closing words from the local clergy.
“We want it to be very personal and very supportive of the family and our young children,” said Lyons. “We want them to feel safe and to be able to say goodbye to their friend Celina.”
Donna Jordan is the Publisher of the Colebrook Chronicle. She can be reached at 246-8998 or donna@colebrookchronicle.com. For the newspaper’s full coverage of Celina Cass’ disappearance, go to www.colebrookchronicle.com
No comments:
Post a Comment