Vigil for Jorelys Rivera to be Held Sunday

The one year anniversary of the 7-year-old's murder will be marked with "a celebration of life."

Vigil for Jorelys Rivera to be Held Sunday

The one year anniversary of the 7-year-old's murder will be marked with "a celebration of life."

A candlelight vigil will be held on Sunday to mark the one year anniversary of the brutal murder of a seven-year-old Canton girl. Canton Elementary School student Jorelys Rivera was abducted and killed by maintenance worker Ryan Brunn in her apartment complex on Dec. 2, 2011. Brunn pleaded guilty to the murder and hanged himself in his jail cell shortly after receiving a life sentence for the crime. The vigil, however, will focus on the memory of Jorelys as a happy, loving young girl with the world at her feet. “The theme is going to be a celebration of life,” Bianca Cummings, local child safety advocate and organizer of the vigil said to The Marietta Daily Journal.  According to Cummings, Jorelys' mother Joselinne Rivera-Ruiz asked her to…

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Yes, One Person Can

A Canton mother wrote about her experience meeting kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart, who visited the city last Wednesday. Brooke Bernard shared that story with Canton-Sixes Patch.

Smart: I Will Continue to Speak Out

Elizabeth Smart, whose 2002 abduction at the age of 14 captured worldwide attention, spoke in Canton Wednesday night.

There are several days that Elizabeth Smart will never forget. Her sixth grade graduation. Entering high school.  Her wedding. And March 12, 2003, the day that police officers found her walking the streets of Sandy, UT, with her two kidnappers, rescued her and returned her to her parents. Nine months had passed since her June 2002 abduction from her Salt Lake City bedroom at the age of 14. “I will never forget hearing the words, ‘I have a knife at your neck, don’t make a sound, get up and come with me,’ ” Smart said Wednesday night during a program at the Northside Hospital-Cherokee Conference Center. Smart, whose foundation has partnered with radKIDS, said that no child should have to go through what she did - being raped every day, and …

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Five Things You Need to Know Today

Smart Headlining 7 p.m. Seminar

Find out what's coming up on Canton-Sixes Patch today and what you might have missed overnight.

1. In response to the Dec. 2, 2011, murder of 7-year-old Jorelys Rivera, Keep Georgia Safe and radKIDS are bringing Elizabeth Smart to the Northside Hospital-Cherokee Conference Center for a free seminar at 7 tonight. Smart was 14 when she was kidnapped at knifepoint and held captive for nine months. She and her father "will share with parents, educators and community leaders the importance of safety empowerment for children," according to a release from Keep Georgia Safe.   2. There's a new hurdle standing in the way of Canton's proposal to sell its 25 percent stake in the Hickory Log Creek Reservoir. Find out what a Pennsylvania consultant shared with the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority about the value of the Canton reservoir. 3. …

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Five Things You Need to Know Today

Child Safety Program Starts Today

Find out what's coming up on Canton-Sixes Patch today and what you might have missed overnight.

1. City Manager Scott Wood said on Monday that Canton received 36 applications for police chief by the Feb. 17 deadline. 2. Elizabeth Smart, the Utah woman who was kidnapped at knifepoint at age 14 and held captive for nine months, will be in Canton the week of March 12-16 to help out with radKIDS, a new program that will teach children how to escape dangerous situations. The program starts today at the YMCA with children from the River Ridge at Canton Apartment Homes, where 7-year-old Jorelys Rivera lived and died. Smart, her father, the founder of radKIDS and the director of Keep Georgia Safe will speak at a program on March 14 at the Northside Hospital-Cherokee Conference Center. Details such as the time are still being finalized. 3. …

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Daily PatchCast

PatchCast: Elizabeth Smart Coming to Canton; Prison for Former Candidate

Here are some of the highlights from Patches near Canton-Sixes for Feb. 20.

For more on these stories, click on the following links:

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Five Things You Need to Know Today

Lawsuit Filed Against River Ridge

Find out what's coming up on Canton-Sixes Patch today and what you might have missed overnight.

1. Jorelys Rivera's mother, Joceyln, filed a civil lawsuit last week in Fulton County State Court alleging that River Ridge of Canton didn't do an adequate background check when it hired Ryan Brunn. Brunn confessed last month to killing 7-year-old Jorelys in December. 2. A new program aimed at teaching kids how to keep themselves safe will kick off this month. Its first class will be offered to children in the apartment complex where Jorelys Rivera lived. 3. Early, in-person voting for the March 6 Presidential Primary began yesterday and runs through Feb. 24. Polls are open at the Cherokee County Elections Office on East Main Street. 4. Canton interim Police Chief Todd Vande Zande said he wants to get the city's police officers back to …

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