Work has begun on a memorial for four RCMP officers slain near Mayerthorpe, Alta., last year.

On Wednesday, heavy equipment rolled onto the site of the future memorial — which will consist of a garden, bronze statues and visitor's centre next to the town's RCMP detachment.

An artist's depiction of the future memorial planned for the RCMP detachment in Mayerthorpe.
(Fallen Four Memorial Society)

Mayerthorpe is 130 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

Area MP Rob Merrifield has verbally promised $500,000, ending concerns the federal government would not help to pay for the $1.5 million project, said Margaret Thibault, spokeswoman for the Fallen Four Memorial Society. 

"Indications are that they're going to do it this fall, which is wonderful news. At least we have a timeframe now, and if we have a guarantee that it's coming, that certainly puts everything in place," she said.

The society had already received almost $700,000 in private donations, along with a $300,000 contribution from the province.

Four bronze statues

Four RCMP officers were killed by James Roszko on March 3, 2005, while guarding stolen auto parts and a small marijuana grow operation on Roszko's Rochfort Bridge farm. Roszko then turned a gun on himself after shooting the officers.

The tragedy has been felt deeply by the tightly knit rural Alberta community of Mayerthorpe, where three of the officers were posted.

A 6.5-acre parcel of land next to the Mayerthorpe RCMP detachment has been set aside for the memorial.
 
A Cochrane, Alta., company is creating bigger-than-life bronze statues of constables Brock Myrol, Lionide Johnston, Peter Schiemann and Anthony Gordon. Each officer's statue will be facing one of the four directions on the compass.

The society hopes the memorial will be open in June of next year.