Warbird Information Exchange

Flight 93 Memorial Land Plucked From Owners

Eminent domain has been invoked to secure some 500 acres of in Somerset Country, Pa., from seven owners, for a memorial to United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757 that crashed there September 11, 2001, after passengers heeded the call "Let's roll" and attempted to retake the flight from its hijackers. The memorial for the 40 passengers and crew will encompass 1,400 acres, and the Department of Justice has a paperwork deadline at the end of the month. Flight 93 Federal Advisory Commission members, Somerset County Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes and Stonycreek Township Supervisor Gregory Walker, have stepped down in protest of the land grab. Replacements are being sought from a pool of area residents. The National Park Service, which will own the land and could have negotiated for its purchase, was defended by the U.S. Department of Interior. Associate director Steve Whitesell told a local news station "we're at the deadline. We need to start proceeding with construction" to make an opening date of September 11, 2011. Vocal property owners are stating that they were willing to make a less forceful transfer of ownership, but were never engaged in negotiations for the land.
Among those who will lose property is a man whose father had purchased land there during the great depression and a pastor who owns a cottage there where he planned to retire. Landowner Randall Musser told the Associated Press he served on the committee that helped establish the memorial's boundaries and said that back in 2002 landowners were promised that eminent domain wouldn't be used. A spokesman for the park service said of the latest plans, "It's just fitting and right that we get this done in time for the 10th anniversary." Eminent domain eliminates the potential for title challenges, liens and other claims that could delay the project.

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Don't touch my junk!!

Eminent domain needs to end NOW... I've been following that story, too, and frankly it makes me sick.

Ryan

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

Something has to be done on this site by the tenth anniversary? The Pentagon got rebuilt fast to show the terrorists could not change things, and they are still feuding about the site in NYC.

The whole memorial makes less and less sense every time I read something new about it. Not that there doesn't need to be one, just the way it has been done.

As one who has gone thru emminant domain, I agreee, it has to end. To take property for a road or legit use is one thing, to take land for a memorial is another, and esp to take 500 acres when the impact site was prob a acre or 2 is crazy.

To those that have not gone thru it, and believe they have to give you fair market value are sadly mistaken. The city of Phx tried to steal my house with such a low offer, I made a counter offer and was threatened with court action. It took almost 2 yrs to conclude the deal, but it was 2 yrs of hell.

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Matt Gunsch, A&P, IA, Warbird maint and restorations
Jack, You have Debauched my sloth !!!!!!
We tried voting with the Ballot box, When do we start voting from the Ammo box, and am I allowed only one vote ?
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Even if they give you fair market value, they still don't compensate you for lost time, the fact that you had no intention of moving, and if you're a business owner - things like having to replace or put in new infrastructure (like T1 lines or cables - not cheap), moving (that can be a HUGE expense), loss of customers due to services being unavailable, having to redo all of your contact information, driving customers to a new location, etc... It's not right.

Ryan

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

I think it is time for the American people to set up and put an end to an out of control government. VOTE every one in office out! Every single one. That will send a message.

I guess this post will put me on a watch list!

Tim

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www.tailhookstudio.com

Please, please don't get me wrong, I deeply respect and appreciate what those people accomplished on that flight. But, 500 ACRES for a memorial site? Wouldn't 2 acres around the crash site be more appropriate and possibly the site of an intimate chapel for remembrance?

This is something I lifted from the web site for the Cambridge American cemetery:

The Cambridge American Cemetery, 30.5 acres in extent, is one of fourteen permanent American World War II military cemetery memorials erected on foreign soil by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

Notice that it is only 30.5 acres, I think a little perspective is in order here.

However, these are my thoughts and my thoughts only.

JMC

How many acres for the WWII memorial in Washington D.C?

How many years did it take them to complete that?

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S.

Just to update this a little bit; from June 12th:



Maybe lots of other people thought the same way.

Got it here:

Government close to land deals for Shanksville 9-11 memorial

Since that is the latest news story, maybe there was a better ending than the one we were thinking about earlier.