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Brockmeyer park construction begins

On the eve of the Popeye Picnic, construction of the memorial park for fallen Chester police officer and volunteer firefighter James Brockmeyer has begun.

Workers with Red Dot Construction poured the first part of Phase I of the project on Thursday on the former Pinky's Sugarland lot at the corner of State and Opdyke streets.

"That is progressing well," said Chester Mayor Tom Page of the park. "I'm trying to make sure that we get all this fairly completed by October 28, so we are on a timeframe."

Page stated the completion of Phase I - which includes a three-sided memorial on a raised base, a circular sidewalk with an open lawn area and ornamental and shade trees - is intended to coincide with next month's formal dedication of the James I. Brockmeyer Memorial Highway.

The highway, which was approved by the state legislature earlier this summer, spans a section of State Route 3 from the three-way stop to Water Street.

"We've got a lot to get started on in a short amount of time, so the sooner we get started the better," Page said.

The park hasn't yet been formally named, but Chester Police Chief Ryan Coffey anticipates that to happen by the end of this month.

"We'll be releasing some details on a dedication, but there's still some decisions to be made on that," Coffey said.

Red Dot Construction is donating the labor for the project, while the city is paying for the materials. J.T. Blankinship, the city's engineers, is donating the architectural services.

"This is just the way things kinda played out," Coffey said on why construction started so close to the Popeye Picnic. "By the time we decided on a design and got the work to Red Dot, this is how it played out."

Coffey noted he planned on meeting with landscapers next week to discuss the best time of year to plant the planned trees.

Brockmeyer was fatally injured during a vehicle pursuit on October 28, 2016, when the CPD squad car he was driving crashed north of the Gravel Creek Bridge on Palestine Road on Chester's north side.

He was extricated from the wreckage by his fellow firefighters and later died at Chester Memorial Hospital. He was 22 years old and only 10 months into his career at the CPD.

The person who is alleged to have driven the vehicle Brockmeyer was chasing, Jason Stoker, faces a December 11 state trial on four charges - including first-degree murder and reckless homicide - related to the incident.

Stoker also has a Nov. 6 federal trial upcoming on a single charge of alleged participation in a conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. He is due back in Randolph County court on Oct. 23, five days before the one-year anniversary of the accident.