Third grade students release their balloons in honor of Annabelle Evans at the playground in a special ceremony Thursday morning.
HALEYVILLE - Friends, classmates and family of Annabelle Evans, one of two Haleyville Elementary students who lost their lives in a house fire, honored their memories with a special, but emotional balloon release on campus Thursday morning, Jan. 13.
The third grade classes at HES released the balloons in honor of Annabelle Evans, their friend and classmate who perished along with her brother, Jacob, and their mother, Cara, Evans in a fire at the family's home on 11th Avenue in Haleyville. Messages were attached to each of the balloons, which were released at the playground, indicating that whoever finds the balloon or the note to please correspond with the student's on the elementary school's Facebook page.
Third grade teacher Brandi Crumpton described Annabelle as a wonderful student who will be missed. She told students to allow the red balloons (red was Annabelle's favorite color) to symbolize her and that students could tell the balloon they loved her and would miss her. Following a moment of silence, the balloons were released into the deep blue sky followed by a period of high emotion from students who cried and hugged each other, being comforted by their teachers.
Attending the balloon release were Annabelle's father Ricky Evans, her grandparents, Rich and Gail Evans and Annabelle's cousins, Max Batchelor and August Batchelor.
See complete story in the Northwest Alabamian.
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