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Posted on 03/11/2003 3:57:59 AM PST by OXENinFLA
LA HABRA -- Antiwar protesters burned and ripped up flags, flowers and patriotic signs at a Sept. 11 memorial that residents erected on a fence along Whittier Boulevard days after the terrorist attacks in 2001 and have maintained ever since.
However, although officers witnessed the vandalism Saturday afternoon, police did not arrest three people seen damaging the display because they were "exercising the same freedom of speech that the people who put up the flags were,' La Habra Police Capt. John Rees said Monday.
"For this to be vandalism, there had to be an ill-will intent,' he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at whittierdailynews.com ...
FIEND DESECRATES SEPT. 11 MEMORIAL
By LAURA ITALIANO
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March 12, 2003 -- "Is nothing sacred?"
The question tumbled out of Noreen McDonough yesterday afternoon as she learned someone had vandalized the lower Manhattan memorial to her fiancé and two other Supreme Court officers who died saving lives on Sept. 11, 2001.
Over the weekend, someone stole more than 30 photographs fixed to the exterior wall of the courthouse at 111 Centre St. - part of a display of photos, poems, news clips and children's artwork that had been up since the tragedy.
The collage of mementos honored three court officers who had rushed, unbidden, 10 blocks south to rescue civilians at the World Trade Center, and died when 5 WTC collapsed.
The three fallen heroes were Capt. William "Harry" Thompson, 51, Thomas "Tommy" Jurgens, 26, and McDonough's fiancé, Mitchel Wallace, 34, an EMT who had worked as a court officer only six months.
McDonough had gone to the memorial yesterday to place a bouquet of white and yellow chrysanthemums for what would have been his 36th birthday.
"All that was left was some double-stick tape," Senior Court Officer Laura Loud - who helps maintain the memorial - told her of the vandalism.
"Who would take something like that?" McDonough wanted to know. "Who would take funeral pictures? God, is nothing sacred?"
Loud answered with disgust, "I have no idea."
Senior Court Officer George Johnson was also furious. He asked that the pictures, and some half-dozen flags that had been part of the display, be returned by whoever swiped them.
"Someone would have had to pry those pictures off with a putty knife," said Johnson, who also helped craft the memorial. "We want it to stop."
Ding, ding, ding. Correctomundo...you get the gold star. This memorial is definitely NOT in "GuadaLaHabra." That area is about a mile south, near La Habra Blvd. THIS area is well-kept, surrounded by houses that are selling for $350-400,000 upward, and just a hop down the road from pricy La Habra Heights (million dollar homes.)
Now can we put this to bed?
Story about fence stirred up heavy reader interest
By Ben Baeder, Staff Writer
WHITTIER -- About 7,500 people each day, on average, log on to the Whittier Daily News Web site, whittierdailynews.com.
Tuesday, the site got 250,000 hits.
The flood of interest was provoked by a Tuesday story about the vandalization by peace protesters of a makeshift tribute to the victims of Sept. 11, 2001. A fence at the corner of Macy Street and Whittier Boulevard in La Habra, decorated with flags, patriotic symbols and slogans, was destroyed early Sunday morning by unknown vandals who scrawled peace slogans over many of the displays.
When news of the incident got out, reporters and producers from MSNBC, KNX Radio, the ABC affiliate in Chicago and several other media called this newspaper seeking information.
Radio talk show hosts, such as the Rush Limbaugh show and KFI's John and Ken, spent time on their shows talking about the display.
The story was also featured on the Drudge Report a Web site full of headlines and links to stories from sources around the world which is visited by thousands of people each day. The site, which broke the Monica Lewinsky story, is published by one man Matt Drudge.
Sites like his give even small papers a chance to squeeze their way onto the national stage, according to Laura Castaneda, professor of journalism at USC's Annenberg School of Communication......
.... Workers at this paper weren't the only people fielding calls from media.
Jeff Collison, owner of the property where the memorial appears, answered dozens of calls from television and radio reporters and producers. "I'm in hell right now,' he said of the day spent answering calls. But he was happy people cared so much about the memorial. "It's a good hell.'
Tracey Chandler, the woman who maintains the memorial, was at a physical therapy appointment on Tuesday morning and was surprised to find news vans and reporters parked near her patriotic display when she arrived at the site. "I could do without the media attention,' she said in front of the fence. "But I'm happy to see the community outpouring.'
Chief Dennis Kies of the La Habra Police Department said he also received calls from media outlets.
But not all the calls to this paper or the players in the memorial-fence story were from the media. Many residents came by the fence to donate some money or say a kind word to Chandler.
And about 250 people e-mailed the newspaper to give their take on what happened.
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HOW is that NOT vandalism?
This cop is an absolute idiot!
Thanks for the ping, Sultan.
Tuesday, the site got 250,000 hits.
Nice little spotlight we have here... with a little help from the rest of the VRWC, of course.
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< spooky voice > Weeee are eeeeverywhere! </ spooky voice >
Yep....they could only have known what would happen, given the history of anti-war zealots....it's been all too well documented....they're violent or resort to violence.....they didn't want to stick around and have to "serve and protect" that day, IMHO.
Agreed; it's a shame....a little effort made at prevention would have gone a long way....as is always the case.
They got me one EARLY Sunday morning (about 6 am), turning out of the library parking lot (I had dropped off a book in the overnight bin) onto a teeny, "one-way only" alley that abuts the P.D. I hadn't noticed the sign - yep, my mistake - but frankly, there wasn't a car on the street at that time.
But boy, you'd better believe they were johnny-on-the-spot with the citation book for THAT one!
Dang! I missed it. She said that they are even taking donations from all over....Good news indeed
Any more news on this whats the painting company and so forth id like to drop them a line just to support their ambitions and patriotism.
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