dwasson
08-21-2006, 05:30 PM
from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6027647,00.html
Thieves Hit Katrina Memorial Site
Monday August 21, 2006 2:46 AM
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Thieves hauled off $100,000 worth of heavy equipment that was being used to help build a Lower Ninth Ward memorial to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
A Bobcat excavator and a Bobcat T300 Skid Steer Loader, both of which require trailers or flatbed trucks to transport, were removed from the site sometime between midnight and 6:30 a.m. Saturday, construction company officials said.
In the neighborhood that remains nearly pitch black at night almost a year after the levees failed, the equipment didn't last three days at the site.
``This takes a lot of guts,'' said Bill Petty, senior vice president of Walton Construction Co. and a 26-year veteran of the construction business. ``I've never seen it happen like this in my entire career.''
National Guard soldiers have been keeping an eye on the construction site at the request of Walton and city officials.
``I don't know what broke down,'' Petty said. ``It could have looked as if (the thieves) were the owners of the equipment moving it off.''
Walton, a Kansas City, Mo.-based firm, and its subcontractors broke ground on the memorial project Wednesday afternoon.
``It's just ironic,'' John Martin, Walton president and CEO, said by phone from Phoenix. ``People are down there trying to do something good. Nothing has been happening in the area for nine months.''
Once home to nearly 12,000 people, the Lower 9th Ward remains a largely vacant, debris-stained portion of New Orleans.
The equipment belonged to a subcontractor hired to pour concrete at the site. Despite the theft, concrete for the memorial was poured Saturday as planned.
``The unveiling will be on Aug. 27,'' Petty said. ``We are going to finish on time, despite the loss. Weather depending, of course.''
Thieves Hit Katrina Memorial Site
Monday August 21, 2006 2:46 AM
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Thieves hauled off $100,000 worth of heavy equipment that was being used to help build a Lower Ninth Ward memorial to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
A Bobcat excavator and a Bobcat T300 Skid Steer Loader, both of which require trailers or flatbed trucks to transport, were removed from the site sometime between midnight and 6:30 a.m. Saturday, construction company officials said.
In the neighborhood that remains nearly pitch black at night almost a year after the levees failed, the equipment didn't last three days at the site.
``This takes a lot of guts,'' said Bill Petty, senior vice president of Walton Construction Co. and a 26-year veteran of the construction business. ``I've never seen it happen like this in my entire career.''
National Guard soldiers have been keeping an eye on the construction site at the request of Walton and city officials.
``I don't know what broke down,'' Petty said. ``It could have looked as if (the thieves) were the owners of the equipment moving it off.''
Walton, a Kansas City, Mo.-based firm, and its subcontractors broke ground on the memorial project Wednesday afternoon.
``It's just ironic,'' John Martin, Walton president and CEO, said by phone from Phoenix. ``People are down there trying to do something good. Nothing has been happening in the area for nine months.''
Once home to nearly 12,000 people, the Lower 9th Ward remains a largely vacant, debris-stained portion of New Orleans.
The equipment belonged to a subcontractor hired to pour concrete at the site. Despite the theft, concrete for the memorial was poured Saturday as planned.
``The unveiling will be on Aug. 27,'' Petty said. ``We are going to finish on time, despite the loss. Weather depending, of course.''