RIVER DENYS, N.S. - Seven blocks of polished red marble, weighing more than a tonne each, have left a Cape Breton quarry on their way to Bathurst, N.B., where they will serve as monuments to seven young basketball players killed in a tragic accident nearly four years ago.
Bathurst Mayor Stephen Brunet says it was emotional to see the blocks -- each about two metres tall -- loaded on a truck for transport to his city where they will be the focus of a memorial park located about a block from Bathurst High School.
The seven members of the Bathurst Phantoms and the wife of their coach were killed when their van collided with a transport truck during a snowstorm in January 2008.
Brunet says MacLeod Resources had no connection to the accident, but wanted to donate the monuments because Cape Breton has one of the few deposits of red marble in the world.
He says a trucking company is delivering the stones for free, and many people have made donations towards the park, including a $50,000 contribution from Loblaws.
Brunet says he hopes the park will be completed this fall.
