The Gilbert Water Tower was lit orange Tuesday in solidarity with the community against teen violence and in remembrance of teenage homicide victim Preston Lord and will be again Wednesday night. …
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The Gilbert Water Tower was lit orange Tuesday in solidarity with the community against teen violence and in remembrance of teenage homicide victim Preston Lord and will be again Wednesday night.
It was a trick, though, to get that done.
Water Tower Plaza is undergoing a renovation this year and power was cut to the tower, which typically has been lit up at night at residents’ requests for some cause or in celebration of a holiday.
Mayor Brigette Peterson explained at the Feb. 20 council meeting that the parks and recreation team and construction contractor found a way to run temporary power to the tower for this request. She thanked them for their “extraordinary efforts” to accomplish it.
That news was well received by Justice 4 Preston Lord advocates at the meeting.
“Lighting the water tower in orange, that beacon of light shining down across Gilbert, will continue to bring awareness to teen violence and hopefully start paving the way to take action and find justice for, not only Preston, as well as all the other teen violence victims,” resident Lisa Alger said during the public comment period.
The Water Tower Plaza renovation is anticipated to finish in the fall.
We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on X.
Raised in Arizona, Tom Blodgett has spent more than 35 years in journalism in Arizona and joined Independent Newsmedia in July 2022 to launch the Gilbert edition. He is a graduate of Arizona State University, where he served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication from 2005-19 and remains editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet.
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