Rebuild starts in N. Asheville for Candace Pickens Memorial Park, named for murdered woman

ASHEVILLE - After two years of fundraising and advocating for a park rebuild, ground was broken Sept. 28 for Candace Pickens Memorial Park, formerly Jones Park Playground, in North Asheville. One of the people holding a shovel was Keesha Martinez, whose daughter, Pickens, was the 22-year-old murdered at the park in May 2016.

The community build of Candace Pickens Memorial Park will begin on Oct. 4 and volunteers of all skill levels are needed.

"I'm a proud momma," Martinez told the Citizen Times Sept. 28.

With tears in her eyes but a smile on her face she explained how the park rebuild is just a reminder of how much her daughter meant to her family and the community.

"It just shows me that she touched them and not only them but the whole world," Martinez said, beaming with pride when she spoke about her daughter.

Martinez advocated for the renaming of the park, saying it was a place she used to take her children when they were young and, in turn, where Candace took her own son.

Pickens was killed in 2016 on her then 3-year-old's son birthday. She had taken him to the park to celebrate, according to previous Citizen Times reporting. Her son, Zachaeus, was also shot, losing his left eye and surviving.

Zachaeus, who is now 9, lives in Florida with family, Martinez said.

Nathaniel Dixon was sentenced to life in prison in 2019 for Pickens' murder. He also was convicted of attempted first-degree murder and malicious maiming of Zachaeus.

Martinez turned the first shovels of dirt along with Superintendent of Asheville City Schools Maggie Fehrman, of Ira B. Jones Elementary Principal Ruafika Cobb School, and Assistant City Manager Ben Woody.

Cobb said that the students at Jones are excited for the park rebuild, as they use it during the school day, some teachers will use it as a reward system for their class as its only several hundred feet away from the school.

"I'm excited that we're having an opportunity to bring community back together again, and that so many people are coming together, and they see the importance of the park," Cobb said.

Mia Logan, Pickens' aunt, stood beside Martinez, leaning on one another for support.

"Candace and I were thick as thieves, everywhere I went you would see her with me," Logan said. "Candace lit up the world, so it was very unfortunate to lose someone like that."

More: N. Asheville's Jones Park playground to get rebuild by volunteers 24 years after 1st time

How it came together

A unanimous vote from the Asheville City Board of Education last year approved the name change to Candace Pickens Park. This was part of a bigger conversation to rebuild the popular community spot after it was torn down by ACS in September 2021, due to lack of maintenance.

Fehrman, who is only a few months into her new role at ACS said the rebuild of the park was something she's been aware of since Day 1.

"This shows how community can come together for what's best for not just the community but for our schools and for our students. I hope that we can use this opportunity to make greater impact in our school system," Fehrman told the Citizen Times.

North Asheville resident David Rodgers helped raise more than $300,000 from donors for the rebuild of the playground and was a driving force behind the effort.

Rodgers told the Citizen Times that he was frustrated that the park was torn down without a replacement plan.

"We quickly raised funds, and it took a year of discussions with the city and Asheville City Schools to accept the donation and then by that time, the prices of equipment went up. So, that's when we decided to do a community built playground," Rodgers said.

It was torn down a couple of weeks into the school year in 2021 and Rodgers said it hurt many community members to lose that park.

"It was tragic. It took nine City Council meetings to get approval to take the donation and then another three to four school board meetings," Rodgers said.

Rodgers and his team slotted five days for the rebuild, with hundreds of volunteers including the YMCA, Asheville City Schools staff and students, the soccer team at Mars Hill University and student athletes from several other schools across Asheville.

The rebuild will take place from Oct. 4-8.

"This is meant to be a community event, an opportunity to bring people together in a time when we seem so divided. About 800 volunteers are needed to staff three shifts per day. Volunteers are urged to sign up online at rebuildjonespark.org," a Sept. 25 news release for the park rebuild said.

The morning shift is from 8 a.m.-noon, the afternoon shift is from 12:30-5 p.m., and the night shift is from 5:30-8:30 p.m. The 30-minute breaks in between are to eat, Rodgers said.

They will be providing food for anyone who works two shifts in a row.

Child care is available on Oct. 7-8. To register volunteers can go to Childcare Needed: Childcare During the Community Build of Candace Pickens Memorial Park (signupgenius.com).

Repeating history

The park was first built in 1999 by community volunteers. Some of those same people who helped build the park 24 years ago, will be helping again on Oct. 4-8.

Mike Lewis, who had a hand in helping build the park in 1999, said the playground was the first place his grandchildren wanted to go when they came to visit.

Lewis has been active in the community for 40 years and said his granddaughters' first words were spoken at the park.

Susan Lifchez, a first-grade teacher at Jones, was on the committee back in the '90s that designed and built the community park.

"We had a designer come into the school and interview the kids, asking what they wanted the park to look like and that night he drew it up and there it was, the park," Lifchez said.

She will be one of the many volunteers helping rebuild what she once did in 1999.

The land is owned by Asheville City Schools, but the city has agreed to maintain the playground equipment for 20 years, or the life of the equipment, whichever is longer, according to Rodgers.

More: Asheville School Board: Jones Park renamed to Candace Pickens Park; honors murder victim

More: Asheville approves Jones Park playground rebuild; Push to rename to honor Candace Pickens

McKenna Leavens is the education reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at mleavens@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter @LeavensMcKenna. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville park rebuilds in honor of murdered woman Candace Pickens