ST. LOUIS — Olga Mister & Travone Mister Sr.'s worlds were changed last year when their son, Travone Maurice "TJ" Mister Jr., drowned in a pool at the Kennedy Recreation Complex in south St. Louis County.
TJ's parents and community members gathered Sunday nearby at Suson Park to have the playground dedicated in their son's honor. A bench and a sign read his name to the entrance of the park.
Editor's note: The above video aired during a previous broadcast.
It was part of an $8 million settlement between the family and the county.
"I wish he were here playing on this playground. I look at the rain like it's T.J's tears," Olga said.
Olga went on to say more needs to be done to make sure what her family went through doesn't happen again.
"It's a nice gesture from St. Louis County but we want more," Olga said.
Even in the rain, dozens of people showed up to honor TJ. His parents want more than policies in place, calling for stronger laws. They're headed to the capital in January to keep fighting.
State Representative Michael Burton, who represents the area and District 92, is one politician guiding the Misters through legislative action. He wants to pass HB 1291 through the legislature after it failed last session.
The bill would regulate summer camps by requiring background checks on employees, emergency action plans, CPR training for staff and random inspections for camps with aquatics among other regulations.
"As soon as January comes we're going to fight to make a change to protect all children in the state of Missouri when they go to summer camp," Burton said.
A police report revealed there was only one lifeguard on duty at the time to supervise more than 40 children. It also showed a camp counselor ignored the warnings of two other children who saw TJ struggling in the water.
The pool sits inside of County Councilman Ernie Trakas' District 6.
"I'm not going to stand here and say that we did everything perfectly. We didn't. Mr. Burton and myself are committed with the Mister's to work together to make whatever improvements to further ensure children like TJ are safe as possible when they’re involved in county activities," Trakas said.
Dealing with the grief weighs on extra on the Misters this time of year.
"One day at a time. Holidays are really hard. Halloween was one of his favorite holidays and that's just really hard," Olga said.
In the family's $8 million settlement, the county had to pay $5 million, and the county's insurance company paid the other $3 million.
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