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Show Page 8 AMERICAN FORK CITIZEN Thursday, September 25, 2008 N uraoirts wdwddh Ace Stryker DAILY HERALD On a January morning 1 1 years ago, 20-year-old Orem native Christopher Aaron Melilrum was sleeping in because he didn't feel well. A casual acquaintance strolled into his Salt Like City apartment apart-ment and fired a shotgun three times: once into the ceiling, once into the mattress, and once into Meldrum's stomach. I le was Life Flighted to LDS Hospital, but died before doctors doc-tors ever had a chance. The autopsy would later reveal his liver had been blown to pieces, his lungs and kidneys also decimated. deci-mated. More than a decade later, Christopher's mother, Keri Meldrum, has precious few answers. an-swers. She knows her son was at least familiar with his killer's name before the murder. She knows, having asked the killer personally at a parole hearing, that he apparently had "no reason" for the crime. And she knows Christopher isn't com uere Michael Rigert NORTH COUNTY STAFF An Orem couple was so taken tak-en with the folk art of square dancing, it quite literally brought the two together. Peter and Phyllis Webb met seven years ago as the then-divorced then-divorced singles began to notice one another across "the square" at square-dance clubs in Utah Valley. They first met at Guys & Gals Square Dance Club based in American Fork, one of five area square clubs the couple currently holds memberships member-ships with. Peter and Phyllis knew each other for some time before they began dating. Phyllis said they exchanged vows in 2002 at the Silver State Square Dance Club in Reno, Nevada. "We just got along so good," she said. "We got married during dur-ing a lunch break." As a folk dance, square dancing is defined by four couples arranged in a square with one couple on each side. It traces its history back as far as the 17th century and continues to be popular in America and around the world. What's the draw? "The people peo-ple and the fun," Phyllis said. Peter said they've met the nicest people in through world square dancing, no matter where they've gone. A longtime school teacher at Hillcrest Elementary School in Orem. Phyllis was among the first group of students to graduate from the then-new Orem High School. Trained in ballroom, tap and jazz dance genres, she was also more recently a member of the all-female Utah Valley dance group, The Golden Girls. "So I'm a real Oremite," she said. Farther to the north, Peter Webb was raised on a Lehi ranch by a family that was enthralled en-thralled with a single entertainment entertain-ment with which the oldest to the youngest could participate in that's right, square dancing. danc-ing. Age only the age of eight, Peter began learning the steps in the garage of a member of a local square dance club The Lehi Swingers with which his family was more than a little lit-tle familiar. In Lehi. the Webb family name was synonymous with square dancing. "My Dad and Mom were among the founders of the club and were its first presidents," Symetra. f I N N C I A I ; .v. f : ing back. "I le loved the outd(xrs fishing and hiking. He even learned how to make his own flies," she remembered. "Now that he's gone, I wish I had one of his flies as a memento." But what Meldrum lacks in closure, she's trying to make up for in positive momentum. Two years after her son's death, she became Utah's contact con-tact person for the National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children, and she has spent the last decade building build-ing a network of support for grieving parents and all family members, she clarifies like her. Unsolved crime Rose Maree Sazesh's relationship rela-tionship with the organization is more recent. She lost a son, 30-year-old Brandon Sazesh, to gun violence in 2004. His body was discovered in a car behind a Salt Lake City apartment building with a bullet hole in his neck. Authorities still have denciBio brin Phyllis and Peter Webb in their square-dancing out jits at the Eldred Senior Center in Provo Tuesday. Peter said. One of nine children, Peter said his oldest six siblings all took up the family pastime. "The youngest is now coming to Guys & Dolls an American Fork square dancing club," he said. And the dance sport isn't just a casual hobby for the Webbs. They routinely travel up and down the Wasatch Front and across the state to dance at various clubs and perform at special events. They typically "I want to know my family will be OK." Life insurance is an important part of your family's financial plan. It can help ensure those you love will be taken care of if something happens to you. Find out how easy it can be to obtain life insurance from Symetra. Call me today. Tom Hunter , ' The Hunter Group 359 East Main St. American Fork, UT 84003 N (801) 763-8887 Life insurance is issued by Symetra Life Insurance Company, 777 108th Avenue NE, Suite 1200, Bellevue.WA 98004. Symttrt' and tha Symttra Ftnancal logo ara rtgisttrtd Mrvk marVi of Symatra Ua Imwanca Company. no leads in the case. "He's basically a cold case," she said. "We don't know why he was there or what happened. hap-pened. I don't know if someone owed him money, if he was set up, if it was because of a girl." In the months that followed, Sazesh said she found no outlet for her pain, no place equipped to help her cope with her loss. "I went through a lot of depression, de-pression, isolation, grief, loneliness," lone-liness," she said. "I searched everywhere. I couldn't find a therapist that dealt with homicide. I couldn't find any support groups. I pretty much lost my will to live. I just didn't care about anything anymore." Then she stumbled across what Meldrum was doing. The opportunity to connect with other parents in the same situation situ-ation was exactly what she longed for, she said. "There's this stigma connected connect-ed to murder," she said. "It's just a place where people can find refuge. It's a safe haven." Sazesh has since become the organization's chapter leader dance four to five times a week, danced earlier this month at the Utah State Fair, and, this past weekend, danced during Melon Days in Green River. In a way, the Webbs in recent years have become de facto ambassadors of square dancing in Utah Valley and beyond. They attend so many dances and have made so many friends at square dance clubs that few don't know their names, Phyllis said. They've also served together on numer MM Melon fflMRjuQBisa&S in Utah, She and Meldrum have established a regular support sup-port group that meets at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month at the Central City Recreation Rec-reation Center, 615 S. 3(K) East in Salt Lake City. "Right now, it's what keeps me going," Sazesh said. "It's the most important aspect of my life." Recent wounds A more distant murder would bring another member to the group eventually. Lee Da'nae Laursen, 21, had been in San Francisco for just a few months in 2005 before she was shot three times and killed, apparently ap-parently because she possessed information her killer didn't want shared. "She was murdered basically basi-cally to silence her," said her sister, American Fork resident Karly Laursen, who declined to elaborate. Karly grieved privately for years and still bristles when she talks about her sister's rem couple foaether IS? mi ous club boards and been advocates advo-cates for square dance around the state. One caller in the state has even dubbed them "Mr. and Mrs. Square Dance." Just last week the couple was dancing at Guys & Gals home dance hall at the American Ameri-can Fork Veterans I lall when Peter met a young couple out on the street while he was taking tak-ing a break from the dancing, she said. "Peter got a young couple, pulled them off the street and M -A 4 mmm 5EA5QM Peaches Raspberries Tomatoes Potatoes All Gween Vegetables Local Honey , Pink Etye Beans BaRtlett Peaws killer, who has been convicted of two more murders in Las Vegas but has yet to be tried in California. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that she caught onto what the organization was doing and decided to get involved. "I don't think at the beginning begin-ning I really could have participated partici-pated and put forth my best effort," ef-fort," she said. "Now that I've had some time to heal, I look at it as turning a really tragic situation into something a little more positive." Laursen said she views her participation in the organization organiza-tion as a way to honor her sister's sis-ter's memory but it also fills an emotional hole. "I'm really excited to meet other people, family and friends who have lost others through homicide," she said. "I still need to know that I'm not alone." Chance to remember To that end, the organization organiza-tion is hosting a memorial said 'Do you dance?' " Phyllis said. The man was preparing to go on an LDS mission and the couple joined the group and danced with them on into the night. A square-dancing couple recently asked Peter about all the miles he and Phyllis put on their car a minivan that sports the license plate frame "I'd rather be Square Dancing" (Peter's Honda Gold Wing motorcycle license plate MIGRAINE HEADACHES? If you are between the ages of 1 8-65 and have 2-8 migraine headaches per month, you may be eligible to participate in a research study involving an investigational medication. PHrticipants receive study medication, study-related physician visits, lab work, and financial compensation for time and travel. For additional information and participation requirements CALL 322-INFO (4636) Intermountain Clinical Research 12422 S. 450 E., Suite C, Draper www.icrtrials.com service and candlelight vigil to commemorate lost loved ones. Scheduled for tonight at 7 at the International Peace Gardens in Salt Lake City, 10(i0 S. 900 West, it will feature fea-ture several musical numbers, speeches, and a roll call of murder mur-der victims. Meldrum said she hopes the event will bring together more than 300 "survivors," as organization orga-nization members call themselves, them-selves, but she knows it can't ultimately silence the sorrow each of them feels. "Individuals may think of the pain. The pain is massive at first, but then the intensity of the pain kind of lessens," she said. "Maybe we've been given a life sentence. Our loved ones are gone, but we're here to carry on." More information about the organization, and a flier for tonight's event, is available online on-line at www.pomc.com. I Ace Stryker can be reached at 344-2556 or astryke herahlextra.com. MARIO RUIZ Daily Herald frame states "I'd also rather be Square Dancing") traveling to square dance around the state. "I said T have but I love what square dancing has done for me,' " Peter said. "It's brought me good health, good friends all over the state, Phyllis Phyl-lis and a whole new life here." Together, the Webbs, who live in Orem, have nine children chil-dren and 28 grandchildren all prospective future square dancers. |