By Sara McCarthy
For The Signal
During a ribbon cutting ceremony Monday at David March Park, members of the Santa Clarita City Council, commissioners and local residents and families gathered around the new baseball field to celebrate the new and improved park space and commemorate the life and legacy of sheriff’s Deputy David March, who was killed in the line of duty in 2002.
The renovated park now adds 8 acres of recreational area, including a baseball field, picnic pavilion, a lighted basketball court, enhanced playground areas with added shade and new outdoor exercise equipment, an exercise staircase, along with added parking lots and public art, all to enhance parkgoers’ experience.
Prior to the ceremony, council members and members of March’s family spoke to honor March, reading a speech on behalf of Teri March, David March’s widow. The deputy, who grew up in the Santa Clarita Valley and attended Canyon High School, was shot and killed during a traffic stop while on duty for the Sheriff’s Department in Irwindale.
“At the groundbreaking, I remember thinking how many children and families would one day enjoy a park dedicated to one of the greatest people I’ve ever known,” said the March family statement. “Every visit filled my heart with gratitude, knowing that Dave’s memory was living on through the laughter and joy of the families around us.”
Local families filled the new terraced seating surrounding the baseball field for the ceremony, with excited kids heading to the enhanced playground and field upon the ceremony’s conclusion.
Jena Liebig, a local resident and mom, brought her kids to the ceremony, along with friends and family who are a part of a local homeschool group. Liebig described how every school semester, a new local park is chosen as a meeting place for the homeschool group, and for the upcoming semester, David March Park will be their new meeting place.
“Having a place where you can take your kids and your whole family and meet up with people and just encouraging them to be outdoors and exercising, or just playing — it’s awesome,” said Liebig.
Santa Clarita Mayor Laurene Weste, who led the ceremony, said the expansion and renovations to David March Park are a continuation of Santa Clarita’s commitment to community.
“[Santa Clarita] has 43 parks, and I think in Santa Clarita, parks are a lifeline and a mainstay for us with our families and our friends,” said Weste. “We’re going to continue working on those goals, and we’re going to continue supplying our community with what they need.”
As David March Park now remains open for use by the Santa Clarita community, Weste left residents with a reminder of remembrance for David March.
“Even in loss, there can be great remembrance and honors for those people that dedicated their life of service,” Weste said. “David March gave his all for his community and his country and helped keep us safe, and to take away from this, he will not be forgotten, because this community did not forget.”
David March Park is located at 28310 North Via Joyce Drive in Saugus.
