Agreement on memorial reached

An agreement was reached last week between Vernon officials and former Mayor Sally Rinker over two gifts that she donated to the township in memory of her late son.

Last year, the Rinker family donated a flagpole at the pump track that included a stone in memory of Jason Rinker, who owned and operated Ridetopia, a local bike shop near Mountain Creek.

He died in a motorcycle accident in January 2021 in Orlando, Fla. His passenger and girlfriend, Kristi LoRe, survived the accident but sustained major injuries that have left her paralyzed from the waist down.

The other gift from the Rinkers was a sign at the entrance of the Town Center Park and Pump Track. Vernon officials, as an acknowledgment of the Rinkers’ generosity, agreed that it would be appropriate for a small sign to be attached underneath the larger sign, saying, “This sign donated in the memory of Jason ‘Jay’ Rinker.”

This summer, Anthony Rossi, who became mayor in January after defeating Sally Rinker and Harry Shortway in the November election, had the memorial stone at the foot of the flagpole and the small sign attached to the Town Center Park and Pump Track sign removed.

In social media posts, he said it was inappropriate to honor Jason Rinker because his actions allegedly caused not only his death but also LoRe’s injuries.

“This was not an easy decision,” Rossi said in a Facebook post in July. “Losing a child is horrible and I don’t wish it on anybody.”

He added that some people may not have considered how others feel, “especially the families who are suffering to rebuild their life or the life of a woman now in a wheelchair.”

Petition to council

In response, Rinker produced a certified petition asking officials to replace the memorial monument and small sign referring to the donation of the park sign.

A special meeting, at which the Township Council would vote on the matter, was scheduled Oct. 1. It was canceled because a deal was struck before the meeting.

“The mayor first offered that only the monument be returned, and he would reimburse me for the park sign, donated in memory of my son along with its small, attached dedication sign,” Rinker said. “I refused that offer. I want no money refunded to me which would come from taxpayers.

“I received many communications of support during this very public issue which included parents who tragically lost their children.”

Rinker said she suggested replacing the wording on little sign with “This sign dedicated in the memory of children who left us too soon” and Rossi agreed.

“I appreciate the agreement we made. This adjustment to the small sign will now include all our children and Jason’s monument will be returned to its rightfully dedicated place at the base of the flagpole donated in his name.”

Rinker said council president Patrick Rizzuto played a key role in hashing out the agreement.

“I fully understand how emotional this is,” he said. “However, I never felt this should have been a council question. I felt that I could use my office as council president to work with Sally and the mayor, both of whom I know, to resolve this issue. It would save the town bad press and publicity and possible litigation expenses.

“Sally made it clear she does not want taxpayer money used to replace the stone and produce another small sign, but the town will cover the expenses, which are minimal.”

Family upset

Gregory LoRe, Kristi’s father, traveled from his home in Georgia to attend the Oct. 1 meeting, only to find that it had been canceled and a deal had been struck.

“I had no idea any of this was going on until people in Vernon contacted me,” he said. “I then got in touch with the mayor and supported his stance on this.

“I am upset that the mayor made a deal,” he said.

Howard Burrell, who was mayor when the memorial was dedicated last fall, said he has no regrets about his decision to accept the gifts in memory of Jason Rinker.

He is happy to see that the controversy has come to an end.

“For the pump park, we needed someone to donate a flagpole,” he said. “Sally offered to donate one. Her son was big in the bicycle community.”

“It was no different than the trees and benches we have in our parks with the same kind of sentiment donated by other residents. That flagpole filled a need we had as a town, as did the sign,” he added.

“I understand the emotion behind this issue, but I think we all have people our lives that may have not always lived a perfect life. That doesn’t mean they didn’t make contributions. It is not our policy to dig into the past of every person recognized in our parks. That process would be impossible and quite harmful.”

Rossi addressed the matter on social media after reaching the agreement with Rinker.

In a Facebook post, he said, “Last night, Ms. Rinker and her petitioners withdrew their petition to replace the memorial stone and plaque, which resulted in the canceled special council meeting. This agreement was also attached with an application that ensures compliance with our memorial procedures and maintains a record.

“The agreement allows for the memorial stone but explicitly prohibits the return of the memorial plaque with Jason Rinker’s name on it. To have any park memorialized or dedicated to any one individual should never be allowed on township property.

“Ms. Rinker and I mutually agreed to put this behind us and move forward, and I want to thank council president Patrick Rizzuto for taking the initiative on this issue and finding common ground between the parties involved. I know this doesn’t completely satisfy everyone on both sides and probably never will.”