Memorial honors city's fire crews
Lynnwood firefighters and police raise money to build a monument to honor emergency responders.


LYNNWOOD - In the days following the Sept. 11 attack of the World Trade Center, people nationwide looked for ways to express their grief.

In Lynnwood, people brought flowers, balloons and cards to an empty spot outside of Fire Station 15.

Four years later, the Lynnwood Police Department decided it was time to build a proper place to remember first responders who serve and sometimes die in the line of duty.

Workers installed a monument, a polished black granite stone surrounded by engraved bricks, last week in front of Fire Station 15, 18800 44th Ave. W.

The department will host a dedication ceremony, but a date has not been set.

"Even today, people bring these things every once in a while. We need a place that people can come," Capt. Bruce Forbes said. "It is a place for us to remember who used to work here who passed away."

Lynnwood Firefighters Association, Lynnwood Firefighters Union Local 1984 and private individuals raised the money to buy and install the $2,700 memorial.

The upright stone also features a picture of a firefighter carrying a child down a ladder, the Maltese Cross and the inscription about Sept. 11.

The names of six retired Lynnwood firefighters who have since died will be engraved on paving stones at the memorial.

They are: the city's first fire chief, Ken Montgomery; the city's second fire chief, Alan Dillon; fire marshal Wade Warren; firefighter Ernie Black; reserve firefighter John McPherson; and volunteer firefighter Robert Sweet.

No one has died in the line of duty in the Lynnwood Fire Department's 35-year history.

"Even though they did not die in the line of service, they did serve," Forbes said.

"(The memorial) recognizes not only the people of (the Lynnwood) fire department but those around the country," Forbes said.

"We are a brotherhood and sisterhood. We want people to have a place to come to so they can remember who gave their lives in service."

http://heraldnet.com/stories/05/11/07/100loc_bmemorial001.cfm

The devaluation of freedom

I love Washington, DC. Oh, I absolutely don't love what goes on there, but the history and the symbolism are wonderful. I've visited Washington a number of times now, the most recent being just a week ago. There are some things I see over and over again (the Charters of Freedom — the collective name given by the National Archives to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights — for example, and the Space Shuttle Enterprise), but every time I go, I see new things as well. This trip was no exception.

One thing that was different this trip was the fact that I had a friend of mine along. She and I tend to agree on many political issues and are, in fact, both fairly active in politics. I figured we'd find much to talk about and to inspire us in Washington. I was right, but what we talked about took me by surprise.

One of our excursions took us to Arlington National Cemetery. I am well aware and deeply appreciative of the many sacrifices remembered there. I've been to Arlington before, but there were a few new things there for me to look at. One of those was the memorial to the Space Shuttle Columbia astronauts. The other was a limited time exhibit in the Women in Military Museum entitled "The Wall of the Fallen."

The Wall is made up of small portraits by a variety of artists. Each artist was given access to photographs of soldiers who died in Afghanistan or Iraq up through November of last year. The resulting artwork is now mounted with plates bearing the soldier's name and dates of birth and death. The smiles on some faces are poignant; the pride shining through on so many is humbling. Most moving of all, though, are the coins, notes, flowers, and other tributes left near so many photos.

With tears in my eyes, I read notes from children or parents to their lost fathers or children. As I stood in front of one portrait, a young man, his wife, and their small child walked up beside me. He quietly placed a coin at the base of one painting and stepped back. The child piped up, "Did you know him, Daddy?" The man answered that yes, he'd known that soldier as well as several others pictured on The Wall.

The man's wife said nothing, but she followed closely as her husband laid more coins beside more portraits. As he did, he clearly grieved. But it was just as obvious that he took great pride in himself and in his brothers in arms. I personally left a thank you note with those on The Wall. Although I'm not proud of the reasoning behind the war in Iraq, I remain grateful for those who go such places and who brave such dangers in the name of freedom.

My friend, who'd wandered far ahead of me along The Wall, walked back to where I was standing. She, too, had tears in her eyes. But as it turns out, hers were tears of anger, and she whispered through clenched teeth, "I'd send my sons to Canada before I'd let them join the Army!" I didn't respond; after all, there are good reasons to oppose at least the war in Iraq, and so it's fair to say that there might be good reasons to refuse participation when refusal is an option.

Later the same day, I had the opportunity to visit the Vietnam War Memorial for the first time. That memorial is merely a V-shaped construct of polished black stone engraved with the names, in order of death, of all of the American soldiers who died southeast Asia. I don't know anyone who fought there; I don't know anyone affected by someone who died there. And yet, standing there, I wept (if you've not seen it, you can't appreciate just what an impact it has even for those of us who have no connection to the war itself).

My friend, again in tears, leaned close to me and said, "We never learn! Why do we have to fight about everything?" Well, there are reasons, and some good ones. But Viet Nam isn't very often used as an example of "good reason to fight," so I made no reply.

After having kept quiet at two memorials fearing I had no solid ground to stand on for debate, I was actually shocked into silence at a third.

The World War II Memorial is rife with symbolism. One of the most moving of those symbols is a low wall covered with gold stars. Each star represents, I'm told, about 100 dead soldiers. There are a lot of stars. On a large, low strip of granite seated in front of the wall of stars is engraved: "Here We Mark the Price of Freedom."

It's not possible to stand in front of the rippling fountains and look at the thousands of gold stars and not feel grateful. I don't believe any American could read the inscriptions featured at the Memorial and remain unmoved. Certainly, my friend seemed as emotional as I was. And then she spoke: "War is stupid. Why can't we ever just compromise?"

Although I recognize our losses were grievous in that particular conflict, I have to wonder just how it is any of those men would look at us today if any of us might suggest that we should have compromised with Adolph Hitler. Might they wonder in return just what happened to the kind of America they died to defend?

The next day, there was a strangely similar exhibit at another venue we visited. It's called "The Price of Freedom: Americans at War," and it's housed in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. It features artifacts and information from every conflict the United States has been involved in, from the Revolutionary War to the ongoing battle in the Middle East. I was especially touched by objects from both ends of the timeline.

A British uniform, in perfect condition, made the war seem bizarrely close and real. Near the end of the exhibit, a strange steel sculpture caught my eye (I'm no fan of modern art, but the Smithsonian displays a good deal of sculpture in that vein, so you'll forgive me initial impressions). Upon moving closer, I learned that the twisted and holed beams were actually taken from the World Trade Center's south tower after 9/11.

In front of the beams are small glass cases containing the mangled fragments of an Airfone from Flight 93 and the Pentagon ID badges of a military man who perished there on that same date. Whatever your view on the extension of the War on Terror into Iraq, make no mistake: the beams, the phone, and the badges are, indeed, artifacts of war and symbolic of heroes, dead and alive, in the conflict.

My friend didn't say anything. Why not? She chose not to see that particular exhibit. She was not, she said, interested in seeing anything to do with war. I went without her, to pay my respects if nothing else. And as I began my tour with that British uniform, and while I looked at antique firearms and touched cannon barrels, I came to realize something of great importance to us all: the American Revolution, or more properly, the War for Independence, wouldn't be fought today.

Although there will always be a few patriotic volunteers who will fight, there are more and more people who express themselves as my friend did, and who won't go — or allow their children to go — into harm's way, no matter the cause. There are more and more people who believe in working toward some kind of utopia where wars are simply not necessary, forgetting that human nature alone will preclude that goal. The same people who don't believe that deadly force is ever necessary in self defense are becoming more and more vocal in their beliefs that the deadly force known as war isn't necessary either, if only we try to understand the "enemy" or if we'd just stop whatever it is we're doing to make him mad.

The first step toward this end is, of course, compromise (and it doesn't matter that such compromise can and will involve ignoring appalling human rights violations); other integral actions involve such entities as the United Nations (forgetting, of course, that the UN is singularly ineffective in its stated mission even as it is rotting from the inside out with scandal, and that it represents perhaps the gravest threat to our national sovereignty in the world today). Note that none of these steps involve freedom and its inherent risk; none of them involve sacrifice if that sacrifice is deemed too great. And nowhere is it mentioned that, in the end, the final result will prove to be a loss of freedom for all.

With that in the back of my mind, I finally spoke up in a moment of pique and quoted a Klingon proverb (it's not original to Star Trek, but I'm damned if I know the original source) and told my friend that, "I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees." She looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. Melodramatic I may be, but I've lost neither my mind nor my love for real freedom. It's readily apparent, however, that too many people in America today have lost at least the latter, replacing it with a desire for security or a fear of responsibility.

I don't like war. It's dirty, nasty, ugly business. There are times, however, it's a necessity. I like even less the undermining of liberty in the name of war. Winning freedom and preserving freedom are worth the price, whether the cost merely involves activism or is far, far greater. Maybe if we can't believe that, or if we've forgotten just how much it cost those who won our freedom in the first place, we should ask some who aren't free what they'd give to get what we've already got — and what they'd think of those of us who, without complaint and sometimes with complicity, are so readily willing to give it away.

Lady Liberty is a graphic designer and pro-freedom activist currently residing in the Midwest. More of her writings and other political and educational information is available on her web site, Lady Liberty's Constitution Clearing House, at http://www.ladylibrty.com.

http://www.enterstageright.com/archive/art...105/1105devalue.htm

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

Just a reminder that Peter Walker, the landscape architect working with Michael Arad on the World Trade Center Memorial, will chat live with visitors to our website this Tuesday, November 8th at 12pm EST.

Peter will answer your questions on topics ranging from his approach to landscape design to the tree selection process for the Memorial to your specific landscape challenges. Simply go to out homepage at http://www.buildthememorial.org/ and click on the chat link to the hour-long discussion.

Best wishes,
Gretchen

Gretchen Dykstra
President & CEO
World Trade Center Memorial Foundation

Dr. David Ray Griffin, Noted Author and Theologian Says:
Controlled Demolition Of World Trade Center Is Now A Fact, Not A Theory

In two speeches to overflow crowds in New York last month, notable theologian David Ray Griffin argued that recently revealed evidence seals the case that the Twin Towers and WTC-7 were destroyed by controlled demolition with explosives. Despite the many enduring mysteries of the 9/11 attacks, Dr. Griffin concluded, "It is already possible to know, beyond a reasonable doubt, one very important thing: the destruction of the World Trade Center was an inside job, orchestrated by terrorists within our own government."
On Oct. 15th and 16th, New Yorkers filled two venues to hear the prominent theologian and author of two books on 9/11 give a presentation entitled "The Destruction of the Trade Towers: A Christian Theologian Speaks Out." Dr. Griffin has continued to blaze a trail of courage, leading where most media and elected officials have feared to tread. His presentation went straight to the core of one of the most powerful indictments of the official story, the collapse of the towers and WTC 7.

http://www.coastalpost.com/05/11/12_.html

Edited by author 11-08-2005 12:02 AM
Bernie Goetz, nicknamed the “subway vigilante” in 1984 after shooting four teenagers. Goetz is hoping to unseat Betsy Gotbaum as the public advocate as part of the one-man "Rebuild Party," which promises to push for a respectful World Trade Center memorial, along with vegetarian menus for school cafeterias and power naps for city employees.
http://www.citylimits.org/content/articles...?articlenumber=1807

Bernie Goetz For Public Advocate Page
http://www.bernieformayor.com/pages/940375/index.htm

Bernie's WTC Blog
http://www.bernieformayor.com/pages/940374/index.htm

Bernie endorses the rebuild the WTC plan is opposed to spending so much public money on the memorial

Bernie Makes Reference to a page that would seem to spell opposition to the relocation of the St. Nicholas Church -- noting it is being pushed off its prime location into sidelines next to the WTC Vehicle Ramp.
http://www.greeknewsonline.com/modules.php...le=article&sid=3532

After being sidelined for nearly 2 months with a heart ailment, I have returned with a vengence.

I have many, many, many new details on 911 memorials across the country -- particularly in New Jersey
http://911memorials.org/usa/

And now that I'm feeling better, I'm getting real cranky on news commnentary at
http://911memorials.org/

A most gracious welcome back.

While I was not expecting a game of complete hardball discussions with the on line Peter Walker live chat, I also did not expect a wiffle ball game with total body armor.
Sad, and pathetic.

9/11 pain still fresh for many

By TOM DAVIS
RECORD COLUMNIST

Over and over, they're told to "get over it."

But when 3,000 people die in a terrorist attack, how can you?

Especially when somebody you know is among the dead.

"It's amazing how often you hear it, especially from people who have no clue. We lost our only child," said Paul Wachtler of Ramsey, who's son, Gregory, died in the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11.

For Wachtler, it's good to have someone to talk to who understands, or doesn't forget what happened, or isn't judgmental.

Yes, it's been four years. But help is still needed, Wachtler said.

Staff members at the World Trade Center Family Center provide that help.

The Long Island-based service is one of the largest organizations that deals with the post-traumatic effects of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history. A staff of 14 psychologists and social workers provides bereavement education and counseling support services.

Since it began just weeks after the attacks, the free-of-charge service has helped more than 1,500 people from New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and elsewhere who were touched by the tragedy. And it will continue to do so "as long as the need exists," said Thomas Demaria, a psychologist who heads the program.

Given the unpredictable nature of mental illness, Demaria doesn't know how long that will be. One of the potential side effects of Sept. 11 is post-traumatic stress disorder, he noted. The symptoms of PTSD can take years to surface.

"When you're injured, you may get over the injury, but you're still carrying some of the effects of it. It can change the way you view the world," said Demaria, assistant vice president in charge of behavioral health at South Nassau Communities Hospital.

The hospital, based in Rockville Centre in Long Island, already had a trauma-based program in place. But the influx of people seeking assistance after the attacks forced the facility to expand its services.

"What was lacking was a coherent, comprehensive response to the intermediate and lingering effects," said Minna Barrett, a psychologist who does work with the center.

The center, which relies on funding from governmental and non-profit relief agencies, helps all people who were affected by Sept. 11. But there is much emphasis on the children who lost a parent, as well as single parents and members of their extended families.

Programs and activities are designed to support children's and adults' resilience and coping skills and to strengthen family bonds, Demaria said.

Participants, for instance, tell their stories in direct conversation. Or they do it through "art therapy," translating feelings into images.

The following are among the center's programs:

The Bereaved Program, which provides supportive groups, workshops, special events and individual therapy for adults and children who lost a family member.

The Client Support Network, which is funded by the Red Cross, assists those rescued from the World Trade Center. It provides information on available resources, individual case management services, referral and coordination of services and assistance in filling out application forms.

Each program doesn't always have a set agenda. Demaria said programs are tailored to meet the needs of each person or group.

"We had a bunch of fragmented families, so we planned an event - a circus - where the families sat next to each other," he said. "At the end of the event, they had a shared common happy experience."

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., a supporter of the center, said she's particularly impressed by the way young people have gotten involved "in making the center such a special place."

"When I visited the center on the fourth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we dedicated a new prayer wall designed by a 13-year-old girl who lost her father at the World Trade Center," McCarthy said. "It is important that young people are able to express themselves while remembering loved ones lost."

The Coping column appears every other Tuesday. To suggest topics, write to Tom Davis, The Record, 150 River St., Hackensack, NJ 07601 or e-mail davist@northjersey.com. Please include your phone number with all correspondence.

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...NzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTU=

http://portal.courts.state.ny.us/pls/porta...SIONS_NDAWCASE.show


First Department Motions
 
THE FOLLOWING MOTION ORDERS WERE ENTERED AND FILED ON JUNE 23, 2005
Mazzarelli, J.P., Friedman, Nardelli, Williams, JJ.

M-2443     In the Matter of Johns v Rampe
M-2444
Stay and preference denied.

http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/mot...t__June_23_2005.htm


First Department Motions
 
THE FOLLOWING MOTION ORDERS WERE ENTERED AND FILED ON SEPTEMBER 8, 2005

Andrias, J.P., Marlow, Gonzalez, Sweeny, Catterson, JJ.

M-4584     Johns v Rampe

Leave to strike respondents' brief or alternative relief denied, as indicated.
 
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/mot...eptember_8_2005.htm

Comments on the DGEIS / Amended GPP
Submitted through LMDC Website

3/8/04

Cityslob posts:

Rules: You must follow the rules, but maybe you can break
the rules. Guidelines: You must address all program
elements, but if you don't, it might be good or may make you
ineligible. Boundaries: You must stay within the lines, but it
may be possible to go out of the lines. Jury: The jury must
judge according to the guidelines, unless they see fit not to,
and whether they do or not, their decision is final. Finalists:
All Stage II finalists must provide cost and feasibility studies,
unless no one notices until it's too late.

World Trade Center memorial plaza will be 24-7, pet-free

NEW YORK (AP) _ The memorial plaza at the World Trade Center site will be open at all hours, and, along with pools marking the footprints of the two fallen towers, will feature white oaks and sweetgum as well as views of the slurry wall, the main landscaper said in an online chat Tuesday.

Visitors, however, will likely have to leave their dogs behind, landscape architect Peter Walker added.

   The main features of the Memorial Plaza, designed by Michael Arad, are two large recessed pools. Walker, whose comments were reported by The New York Daily News on Wednesday, said the plan is to allow the fountain water to flow at all times except during freezing temperatures.

White oaks will be the most prominent trees on the adjacent landscape. A glade reserved for commemorations will feature sweetgum, which Walker said would turn scarlet around the Sept. 11 anniversary date.

The online chat was conducted on the Web site of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation.

Visitors will be able view the slurry wall "down through a line of skylights" and "when one goes down the memorial arrival ramp," he told the chatroom. It will also form one wall of a separate Memorial Museum, he said.

Walker said pets would likely be barred, describing the policy as a matter of "respect."

The memorial site is due to be finished in 2009.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/new...ny-region-apnewyork

Why Did the Pet Chicken Cross Ground Zero?
Wednesday, November 09, 2005

We weren't geeky enough yesterday to care that Peter Walker, Ground Zero death gardener, was being subjected to the humiliation of "live chat." But we will be geeky enough today to note a dispatch from the AP that gets right to the heart of the matter:

Walker said pets would likely be barred, describing the policy as a matter of "respect."
Straight line, much? Anyone in the mood for a tourney? We are! Send in your best "No Pets Will Be Allowed at Ground Zero" jokes (entries consisting only of the word "Arad" are appreciated but cannot be accepted) and we'll send the winner mad kudos and our finest balls-out Gutter love. Which you know you so need. As our immediate predecessor discovered when she just couldn't stop sucking long enough not to suck like our favorite pet who won't get to experience the catharsis of mourning in a theme park.

http://gutter.curbed.com/archives/2005/11/...oss_ground_zero.php

Betty Ann and James Millers have waited a long time to see the September 11 Memorial constructed in the city.
 
The couple, who lost their son, Michael, in the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, look forward to attending an unveiling and dedication ceremony this Sunday, Nov. 13 at 11:30 a.m. at City Hall.
 
"Principal [Ray] Vitali did a beautiful tear-drop garden," said Betty Ann Miller, referring to a memorial garden created at Live Oaks School. "We were so happy that got accomplished.

"This [monument] has taken four years," she continued. "But this one is in the center of Milford, and people might not be out this way to see the garden, so I'm glad they've gotten it done.

"It's a tribute to not just the 9/11 victims, but to the boys fighting in Iraq, too," Miller added.

Many obstacles along the way stalled construction of the monument. If not for the diligence of September 11 Memorial Commission Chairman Joseph DellaMonica Jr. and architect James Denno, who designed the piece at no charge to the city, it may not have come to fruition this soon, according to commission member Jack Fowler.

Fowler, who was working in New York City at the time of the attacks, proposed a local monument when he was a city alderman. He said a number of matters arose that stalled the construction.

"I wasn't on the commission at the time," Fowler said, "but there was a long period for a design contest, and then there was a belief that the monument would be built at the harbor."

Design plans came in larger than some had expected. When the size of the originally planned monument was disclosed, harbor officials decided it wasn't appropriate for the site. The search for a new location led to a ruling from the Milford Historic District allowing for placement at the duck pond behind City Hall.

Ultimately, the granite structure's size was reduced. Now instead of a kiosk-topped piece, the monument will consist of a three-sided slab and granite benches.

"At one point we were back to square one, and that took a lot of wind out of peoples' sails - it took a while to get the wind back," Fowler said.

He credited DellaMonica and Denno with pursuing plans for the structure.

"You have to give Jim Denno great credit," Fowler said. "His original design and the final thing are very different. He's an artist and he's had to have a very tough skin. Throughout all the changes, he's had a smile on his face. And he didn't get paid for any of this. It's been an act of love on his part."

And DellaMonica pretty much has taken on a parental role in overseeing the outcome and construction.

"Even yesterday, he was down at the site, helping prepare the site," Fowler said.

Finishing touches may not be complete on the monument for the dedication ceremony Sunday. An abundance of rain set the schedule back somewhat, Fowler said.

In addition to the Millers, relatives of the late Avnish Patel and Seth Morris, two other local residents who died in the 9/11 attacks, are expected to attend the dedication ceremony this Sunday.
 
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=134...46309&PAG=461&rfi=9