Zionsville Times Sentinel

County

March 21, 2012

9/11 memorial fundraising to begin

By Rod Rose/For the Times Sentinel CNHI

Fundraising will begin soon for the Boone County 9/11 Memorial, which will center on a steel I-beam from one of the World Trade Center Towers destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001.

The I-beam, known to be part of a floor truss, was brought to Lebanon on Sunday, May 8, 2011, escorted by police and fire units and several private motorcycle groups, from a staging area at Trader’s Point Christian Church to Lebanon’s Courthouse Square, where it was on display for several hours.

Projected costs of the memorial, to be built on the northwest corner of Superior and Meridian streets, are estimated between $122,167 and $193,042, LFD Chief Ted Caldwell said. Originally, the monument was to be built at LFD’s Station 11, 975 Lasley Drive. The location was changed because, Caldwell said, “This memorial belongs to everyone who lives in and visits this area,” and a site near downtown Lebanon was thought more appropriate.

“We wanted to put it in a highly visible spot, where people can see it,” he said.

“The steel has DNA on it,” Caldwell said. “It’s important for people to touch it.”

Some people who stroked, touched, or prayed over the I-beam when it arrived burst into tears.

“You can’t touch it and not feel something,” Caldwell said.

The monument is not merely for the 343 Fire Department of New York firefighters who died when the Towers collapsed, the highest one-day death toll for any fire department in history. “This is for the 2,977 individuals who died that day” in New York, at the Pentagon, and when passengers heroically thwarted terrorist hijackers on United Flight 93, but died when the plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field.

A New York magazine has estimated that 20 percent of all Americans knew someone who died or was injured in the attacks.

“We’re just getting ready to get started raising money,” Caldwell said. “We have a good group of support people.” Some donations have been received, but “we’re getting ready to hit it hard” in the next two weeks, he said.

One of those support people is Miranda Dafoe, who is adopting the memorial as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Caldwell said. The Gold Award is the most prestigious honor a Girl Scout can receive.

“We’ll get the Boy Scouts on board, and my guys, too,” Caldwell said.

The I-beam will be displayed on a truncated-pyramid base with a weathered sandstone veneer. It will be impervious to paint and other materials, Caldwell said.

No completion date has been set.

Firefighters “felt so compelled” to protect the I-beam that they preserved loose pieces of rust that were on the steel when it arrived. Those particles have been preserved and could be incorporated into the monument, Caldwell said.

Text Only
County
  • Boone County qualifies for flood relief

    Flooding in mid-April has caused at least $227,000 damage to government property in Boone County.

    May 22, 2013

  • CTY ZT052213 mayors conference.jpg Mayors unite

    Around 40 Indiana mayors attended the conference, which included presentations on city annexations, challenges facing city utilities, and a mayor’s role in K-12 education.

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • CTY ZT051513 stabbing1.jpg Incident Investigated

    Lebanon Police Det.-Capt. Maurice Hobson searches the front yard at 2110 Crimson Lane, Lebanon, where Juventino Salinas Garcia received what were described as “severe” stab wounds to the neck just before 1 p.m. Monday, May 13. Police said Garcia was taken to Methodist Hospital, Indianapolis. A woman was being questioned by police, Hobson said. According to police reports, Clada Garcia called 911 saying that she was in a vehicle in front of the home in the Hickory Meadows subdivision. Her husband had hurt her, she said, and was threatening to injure himself. The injured man was identified as Juventino Salinas Garcia in a press release issued by LPD Monday afternoon.

    May 15, 2013 1 Photo

  • Public invited to voting center hearing May 29

    A hearing on whether Boone County should implement vote centers — locations where voters from many precincts may cast ballots —  will be 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 29, at the Lebanon Public Library, 104 E. Washington St., Lebanon.

    May 15, 2013

  • NEI-ZT051513-Habitat1.jpg Habitat kicks off build season with wall build

    The sound of more than 60 hammers was heard for an hour Saturday morning, May 4, at the St. Alphonsus Catholic Church parking lot in Zionsville.

    May 15, 2013 1 Photo

  • CTY - ZT050113 - voting centers.jpg Lawson outlines vote center options

    Convenience, cost-cutting and quicker counting are demonstrated advantages of “vote centers,” a system that will allow Hoosier voters to cast ballots outside their precincts in 2014 and future elections.

    May 8, 2013 1 Photo

  • 11 bridges to be checked for flood damage

    Flooding may have damaged 11 bridges especially susceptible to “scouring” — the erosion of stream banks by rapidly flowing water.

    May 8, 2013

  • Toy drive begins early after flood ruins gifts

    For many Boone County children, Christmas begins in May this year.

    May 8, 2013

  • CTY - ZT050113 - Feeding Our Future.jpg Feeding Our Future event exceeds goal

    Though attendance was sparse, The Caring Center was able to raise more than $20,000 Tuesday, April 23, at the Feeding Our Future event held at the Boone County 4-H Fairgrounds.

    May 1, 2013 1 Photo

  • CTY - ZT050113 - hit and run $$.jpg Colts’ Irsay and McAfee contribute to reward fund

    Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay and player Pat McAfee didn’t know Anita Wernsing, any members of her family, or anyone connected with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.

    May 1, 2013 1 Photo