Skyblue Mesa Elementary Honors Dominic Blackwell’s Legacy With Blackwell Corner

When Skyblue Mesa Elementary got an upgrade to their library, they decided to dedicate a corner as the Blackwell Corner to honor Dominic Blackwell, who lost his life in the Saugus shooting in 2019.

In the Blackwell Corner, there is a plaque that reads, “Dedicated to the memory of Dominic Blackwell ‘Always a superstar.’”

Plaque placed in the Blackwell Corner.
Steven Barrera | KHTS

“After almost five years you definitely worry if your child is still going to be relevant and brought up in conversation and if he’s still going to make an impact,” said Dominic’s father, Frank Blackwell. “So, it is really special to see that Dominic was such an important part of the Skyblue Mesa family. He was here more than anywhere else. He spent kindergarten to sixth grade here, so he made a lot of friends and relationships that carried on into middle school and in the short time that he was in high school, so this means a lot.”

To accompany the plaque, there is a row of chairs with the Skyblue Mesa logo and Dominic’ s initials inside one of the stars.

Chairs with a special Skyblue Mesa logo that includes Dominic’s initials in one of the stars.
Steven Barrera | KHTS

The biggest feature on the Blackwell Corner is Dominic’s favorite cartoon character, SpongeBob, which was placed above his name.

Steven Barrera | KHTS

“He was a lot like SpongeBob. He had a loud laugh, he loved to have fun and family was important to him. He just enjoyed having a good time,” said Blackwell.” He was always the loudest, most fun person in the room. It definitely is a lot different in our family now. Things are a lot more quiet without him, unfortunately.”

Blackwell encourages all who can check out the library to do so and to promote positivity, as Dominic often did. Peers, family, friends felt Dominic’s kindness and positivity and even those he didn’t know.

“There were times when he’d approach people who looked like they were having a bad day or going through a difficult time and just do something funny to make them laugh,” said Blackwell. “Sometimes, all it takes is one second to turn someone’s day around.”

While Dominic is no longer here to be a light in what can be a dark world, Blackwell hopes that everyone Dominic knew would carry on his legacy by being a source of positivity.

The Blackwell family gets together for a picture in the Blackwell Corner.
Steven Barrera | KHTS

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