WTC families want remains out of landfill

[wicket]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=676&ncid=676&e=4&u=/usatoday/20041006/ts_usatoday/wtcfamilieswantremainsoutoflandfill

A half-million tons of dust and ash from Ground Zero lies atop a hill in the huge Fresh Kills landfill where debris from the World Trade Center was searched and sorted.

Diane and Kurt Horning believe the remains of their son, Matthew, and the 2,748 others who died with him on Sept. 11, 2001, are mingled with tons of crushed concrete, sheetrock and glass.


-snip-

But the Hornings, of Scotch Plains, N.J., have been pleading with city officials for two years to rebury the dust and ash somewhere other than the landfill, despite what would likely be the enormous cost. That way the families of the 1,169 victims who still have not received any remains would have a grave to visit. And Matthew Horning's final resting place would not be separated by only 18 inches of dirt from a hill of city trash. The couple made their case again Tuesday night at a public meeting on Staten Island.

"They're asking us to do something that we feel is morally and emotionally reprehensible," says Diane Horning, a retired teacher.

[daleo]

1. Take that dust and ash (at least some of it), mix it with cement

And build a memorial from the resulting product, preferably located near the site of the WTC. That way there would be a place to visit that contains at least some of the remains, and also would have a powerful symbolic presence. Make it tasteful, and not about terrorism, but about remembering the dead. The memorial for the victims of the Swissair plane crash near Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia is the kind of thing I have in mind.

Just a suggestion.

[skylarmae]

5. good one - I've heard its possible to have beautiful gem stones

made from the cremated remains of your loved ones now. I can't remember the name of the process, but imagine the possibilities if you could combine both.

[Dogmudgeon]

2. After all the money they spent on burying the truth ...

... you'd think they'd have a few bucks left to properly bury the victims.

But what do I know?

--bkl

[onehandle]

3. Send it to Crawford, Texas.

Smirk can build his Library (for his comic books and Gameboy manuals) on his literal failure as President.

[booksenkatz]

4. Sorry, Diane and Kurt

but the Bush family and Halliburton have to earn, and doing as you suggest doesn't put any money in their pockets.

It's the LEAST we could do for these people; after all, it is THEIR sacrifice that allowed this administration to get its much-desired Forever War and to pocket untold billions.

Disgusting.

[sleipnir]

6. I feel bad for the families, but it's just too expensive.

New York is flat broke still and this is going to cost hundreds of millions, something the municipal coffers don't have.

It's kind of disturbing to think that all those people's atomized remains are only a few feet from common trash, but at this point there's not much they can do.

Perhaps taking a single ton of the ash away and building a monument or "gravesite" where the families can visit, a private area not accessible to tourists or others.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

7. I bet you would feel differently if you had lost someone in the WTC....

...not everything in this world revolves around the Almighty Dollar.

[sleipnir]

8. If it meant people not having firefighters, losing jobs, going hungry?

I understand your point, but I'm fairly certain I'd still hold the same position.

You're absolutely correct, there are more important things than the dollar. But there are also living people in the City who need services, food, transportation and decent wages.

I'm not trying to be insensitive to those who lost loved ones, but at some point you have to see what the impact of such a move for the dead will have on the living.

There's nothing in the world that will bring their family members back, but that $600 million might just save a few thousand lives, people starving to death, or more police to stop innocent victims of violent crime.

I think something should be done and it's a horrible oversight that this was even allowed to occur, but what can you do? They've taken away any human remain that's identifiable as human and I think that's all that could reasonably be done for a city that has been suffering emotionally and financially for many years.

They're closing firehouses, daycares and vital services because there's not enough money, but to suggest that we spend $600 million to move ash is just plain wrong.

I believe they should take away a single ton of the ash and create a private memorial for the families, but to move all the debris is not a reasonable motive.