Emery Wainscott
Contributing Writer
[email protected]

The Animal Health Technology/Pre-Vet Club plans to memorialize Murray State student Sarah Townsend by building a recycled bench.

The bench will be made out of recycled bottle caps. Once these are collected, the caps will be sent to Green Tree Plastics, where they will be sorted, weighed and cleaned before being melted down.

Two students, junior Emmalee Storm and senior Kylee Harden, came up with the idea after some members of the Pre-Vet Club suggested different ways to memorialize Townsend. 

Storm said she volunteered to help Harden with the bench because they’ve both had experience with building recycled benches in high school.

As far as a timeframe, Harden said the club doesn’t expect to have the bench done by the end of this semester.

“The company Green Tree Plastics offers three different bench sizes,” Harden said. “So if the club votes on a bigger size, a bigger amount of plastic caps will need to be collected and the longer it may take. Our goal is to collect 250 pounds of bottle caps. In one weekend we have managed to collect about 30 pounds worth.”

Located west of the main campus, the A. Carman Pavilion Animal Health Facility is located near the William “Bill” Cherry Agricultural Exposition Center. The facility offers courses related to animal health technology and the pre-veterinary medicine program.

The club plans for the bench to be located outside Carman Pavilion with a tree planted next to it. They have yet to vote on a color, size and exact location.

To collect materials, the club is volunteering to collect bottle caps at Murray State’s North Farm recycling facility’s monthly “Recycle Saturday,” as well as distributing collection bins. Storm said the club is planning on setting the drop-off locations around the Residential Colleges and hopefully at Carman Pavilion as well.

The club contacted President Bob Jackson and Department Head of Animal Health Technology and Pre-Veterinary Medicine Terry Canerdy to approve the idea for the memorial. The idea was passed onto Dean of the Hutson School of Agriculture Tony Brannon, who offered to pay the fees for the bench.

Townsend was a student in the Hutson School of Agriculture and was majoring in pre-veterinary medicine and veterinary technology. She was also a Residential Advisor at College Courts Apartments and previously worked at Lee Clark Residential College.

Junior Kiara Jones first met Townsend in her chemistry class during freshman year. Jones was also her classmate in a couple of pre-veterinary medicine classes and knew Townsend as a desk worker in Clark College, where Jones lived during her sophomore and junior year.

“Sarah was so kind and caring,” Jones said. “In class she always helped me if I had questions, which was pretty often, so I know I had to have annoyed her a little bit. But she never complained and always explained things to me or helped me with a smile. Every time I would come to the dorms and she was working at the desk she would always say hello.”

Jones said what stood out to her about Townsend was her love for animals, which was evident from her passion and her excitement in class. Jones said her favorite aspects of Townsend was the constant smile on her face, her friendliness around campus and her love for Rue.

Townsend was a student in the Hutson School of Agriculture and was majoring in pre-veterinary medicine and veterinary technology. She was also a Residential Advisor at College Courts Apartments and previously worked at Lee Clark Residential College.

Junior Kiara Jones first met Townsend in her chemistry class during freshman year. Jones was also her classmate in a couple of pre-veterinary medicine classes and knew Townsend as a desk worker in Clark College, where Jones lived during her sophomore and junior year.

“Sarah was so kind and caring,” Jones said. “In class she always helped me if I had questions, which was pretty often, so I know I had to have annoyed her a little bit. But she never complained and always explained things to me or helped me with a smile. Every time I would come to the dorms and she was working at the desk she would always say hello.”

Jones said what stood out to her about Townsend was her love for animals, which was evident from her passion and her excitement in class. Jones said her favorite aspects of Townsend was the constant smile on her face, her friendliness around campus and her love for Rue.

“I want her family to know that Sarah was an amazing person and always so kind to everyone,” Jones said. “I am so grateful for the kindness, compassion, and friendship she showed me in the time we spent together. Even though I may not be able to see Sarah in class or at the dorms, I know I will be reminded of her through the kindness of others. I hope to spread the kindness and compassion she showed to me through my work in the future as a veterinarian.”

Both Storm and Harden weren’t close to Townsend but have learned about her through the memorial. Harden said the memorial has given her the opportunity to feel close to Townsend and show that there are many people who love and care about her.

Storm said she hopes that the memorial can represent Townsend’s memory in a unique way that involves both the campus and the Murray community.

“From hearing professors at Carman Pavilion or some of her friends speak about her, Sarah had an amazing and kind soul and I want this bench to encompass that when you see it,” Storm said. “I want future Murray State students to walk into Carman Pavilion past this bench when they start their education and leave with what I’ve heard Sarah encompassed.  I believe this world needs more people who were like Sarah and I hope this bench reminds people to be like she was.”

The club is accepting plastic lids, medicine bottle caps, toothpaste caps, deodorant caps and bottle caps as donations. More specifically, the accepted plastics are low-density and high-density polyethylene as well as polypropylene. 

A drop off location will be set up soon at the EES Office 334 in Blackburn Science Building. Drop them off the 1st Saturday of every month Anyone interested in helping can contact Harden at [email protected] or Storm at [email protected].