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Shoe memorial for Boston victims grows at McDonough City Hall

MCDONOUGH, Ga. — The city of McDonough is showing its support for the victims of the Boston bombings by displaying donated running shoes from a City Hall balcony.

Three people were killed when two blasts went off during the Boston Marathon on Monday. Authorities believe the bombs consisted of explosives put in pressure cookers.
   
McDonough's mayor wants to give his citizens an outlet for their own grief. The city will collect the shoes through the end of the month. Any shoes not returned will be donated to those in need.

Leslie Balog, the mayor's executive assistant, started the city's shoebox shoe drive, where residents donate used shoes at City Hall. The balcony idea grew out of that one.

"I knew that once we put it out, it would spread, just because we're such a close knit community," Balog told Elliot.

McDonough Mayor Billy Copeland thought it was a great idea. He tries to meet with each person who brings by their running shoes for the memorial.  Each one is tied up to the second-floor balcony overlooking City Hall's main entrance on Keys Ferry Street.

"Caring for others, I've always said, is a measure of greatness," said Copeland.  "Our prayers and thoughts are still with those people and those victims up there as the result of the terrible explosions that took place in Boston."

Balog thinks she's going to be tying up many more shoes before they stop collecting them at the end of the month. 
"I expect that this balcony will be full by the end of the week just because people want to show their support for Boston and all of those families," she said.