A memorial has been created near the site of where two Melita teenagers were killed by a tornado early in August.
Shayna Barnesky and Carter Tilbury, both 18, died when their truck was swept up by the twister near Scarth, south of Virden, on August 7th.
Rob Gilliland said it happened next to his family’s land. “We were spared a lot of the destruction at our place. We lost a chunk of fence line and hydro for a few hours, so we were pretty blessed,” he said. “Just thinking about it, my wife said that there are people who have suffered loss here, and something needed to be done out of compassion for the families. Those two lives were pretty short lives.”
Gilliland said seeing the tornado bearing down on his property was something he never wanted to experience again. “We don’t ever want to see one up close like that again. It was pretty scary watching it come at your yard, and it just happened to veer north before it got to our yard.”
Shayna and Carter had been dating for about year, but had known each other all their lives. Gilliland says they were “soulmates” and it’s fitting they’re names are together on the memorial. He said neighbours and friends came together to build the memorial which has a plaque made from oak with the teens’ names and the words “In Remembrance”.
“We approached Jim Chapman because we knew he had oak boards,” said Gilliland. “He showed me the cross section we used for the plaque, and he actually did the structure of the whole memorial – and then Valentine Pankratz of Pipestone did the engraving, and Cam Manser donated the desk drawer.”
Gilliland said they contacted the families of Shayna and Carter before going ahead with the memorial, and says the families were grateful for the outpouring of sympathy from the community.
The memorial has been placed near Highways 1 and 83 on John Colangelo’s land which also suffered damage from the tornado.
