Paul Fricke always said he wanted a flagpole outside the Hawk Point Police Department facility, but there wasn't a suitable place to erect one. "It didn't seem very fitting to have the flagpole on a gravel lot," quipped fellow police officer Chad Fitzgerald. One year following Fricke's death in a fatal crash, a flagpole now sits in a memorial garden that was created to honor and remember the Hawk Point police chief and Warren County deputy. A memorial ceremony was held Saturday to dedicate the garden, which is located between city hall and Highway 47. The garden consists of flower boxes, shrubs, decorative rocks and a plaque remembering Fricke. Two college scholarships named after Fricke also were presented to recipients Natalie Copeland and James Mark Miller. "He (Fricke) was an outstanding law enforcement officer," Fitzgerald said. "He always set an example. He also was an avid outdoorsman. I think all the creek rock mixed in this garden is an awesome, awesome way to honor Paul." Fricke was killed Aug. 27, 2010, in a single-car accident while on duty as police chief of Hawk Point. According to the crash report, he was driving southbound on Highway 47 inside the city limits when he traveled off the right side of the roadway. He overcorrected, causing the vehicle to skid and travel off the left side where it struck a utility pole. Fricke, 37, was not wearing a seat belt, the patrol reported, and speed was a factor in the fatal crash. The speed limit in the area where Fricke wrecked is 55 mph. He was not responding to an emergency call or involved in a pursuit at the time of the crash, authorities said. Besides working part time in Hawk Point, Fricke had been employed full time as a Warren County deputy for five years. Fitzgerald said local organizations and businesses helped contribute financially to make the memorial garden a reality. Volunteers also spent a considerable amount of time shouldering the workload. One of those was Jacob Hobbs, a high school freshman and member of Boy Scout Troop 390. The memorial garden served as his Eagle Scout project. He came up with the initial design and spent up to eight months working with other volunteers. Hobbs did not know Fricke, but felt the officer needed to be remembered. "I thought honoring a police officer would be a really noble thing to do for an Eagle Scout project," Hobbs said. "You don't really see much of that going on, so I thought it would be a rare treat to do that for somebody." Speaking at the opening of Saturday's ceremony, Mayor Robert Henebry said the day of Fricke's accident will be one many won't forget. "This should be a constant reminder to all of us that every day to be a good person, think of others and do the right thing, which Paul did," he said. "We should look at this memorial garden as a daily reminder of what it means to take pride in our service to others." Numerous officers from the Hawk Point Police Department, which mainly consists of part-time personnel from nearby agencies, and the Warren County Sheriff's Department attended Saturday's ceremony. "This is great," said police officer Jeff Scansion, who works full time with the Wright City Police Department and part time in Hawk Point. "It shows an entire community cared about him. It's great Warren County and Lincoln County came together to honor a good man."