From a depressing scene of local government in action comes resolution of sorts:

In the wake of the June 28 collision on Old Pecos Trail that took the lives of four Santa Fe teenagers, youths who knew them gravitated to Cathedral Park and Bernabé Romero and Donna Quasthoff's statue to our region's colonial founders. There they found comfort in company, sharing their thoughts of Rose Simmons, Julian Martínez, Kate Klein and Alyssa Trouw.

A spontaneous shrine appeared at the monument's base; day by day, it grew to surround the statue's iconic farm animals with vased flowers, photographs, memorabilia and candles, dripping their wax on the bronze. Messages to the departed teens, in felt-tip pen, added to the heartfelt chaos at what already was a memorial — to those gone long before.

By the time a bandana and beads adorned the monument's Franciscan friar, the youngsters' contributions had attracted negative attention from municipal officialdom.

Last week, a few stern establishment types showed up to lecture the teens on New Mexico's illustrious history — by way of explaining why the accumulated offerings would have to go. It would be photographed extensively as a memento of this tragic event and all it implies to our area — but it just couldn't stay.

Not even until the surviving driver, Avree Koffman, gets out of the hospital?

Sorry, said the city-management front man, Sevastian Gurulé; we've had complaints from upstanding citizens and contributors to the monument's creation; it's gotten out of hand.

Add to that a couple of city councilors, Carmichael Domínguez and Ron Trujillo, coats and ties properly in place, who cited law: "We know what you've been through," said Trujillo, "but by city code, some of this could be considered vandalism."

Ah — so acts such as this won't be tolerated under the law, but laws such as those against drunken driving continue to be applied selectively and, too often, after the fact? City Hall can't get off its duff to build an impound lot for cars confiscated from drunks, long after the council passed an impound ordinance and considered its work done, but by darn it'll act against a display of grief over governmental ineffectiveness? And the clean-up mood doesn't apply to the tree stumps around the library?

Yes, restoration of the monument might have been difficult — especially when it came to the indelible writing; but by yesterday afternoon, the less-than-life-size statue and its surroundings looked pretty much as it had. As for the official response, it was a hasty overreaction.

In its wake, however, came an encouraging development: Managers of the property east of the park agreed to be host to the artifacts at a temporary shrine. And there's talk of a permanent memorial to June 28's victims and others whose lives have been cut short by drunkenness and other voluntary impairment.

This will be a tough summer for our community to get over — and for the families of the victims, ni hablar. It's good to see, as Santa Fe so often does, that caring people can rally in painful times.