Since the 12/14 Sandy Hook school shooting, gifts have poured into Newtown from all over the world. In Sandy Hook and on the steps of Edmond Town Hall, piles of candles, teddy bears, letters of well wishing and other memorials have sprouted up.
But now town officials are respectfully requesting a halt to the gifts.
First Selectman Pat Llodra, Police Chief Michael Kehoe and superintendent Janet Robinson are among those who asked for gifts to stop Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
Additionally, Llodra told residents in a townwide call Saturday that existing gifts -- including signs and teddy bears -- would be "gathered and processed" into soil to serve as the foundation for a future Sandy Hook memorial, according to the Newtown Bee:
"This will be sacred soil, holding all the sweet messages and symbols of love and hope, of kindness and sadness, visions for a better future, and promises to forever remember the ones lost in this sad attack."
The call added that Newtown's Public Works department will be in charge of the work.
What a very strange comment, Pro-Life.
I believe you have your facts incorrect. Again, the only items being turned into soil are those that were in the memorials and is a way to always have those well wishes in our town and with us at the permanent memorial. As for being selfish and not caring about shootings in other towns is unfair for you to say. We can not even begin to explain the magnatude of lose and it is no more important than any other loss, it is just HUGE to lose 26 people the way we did. Finally, the other gifts will not sit in warehouses for months, years. People have been working tiredlessly to identify those in need and to get these items to them. Newtown selfish...I think not!
http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/17179526-418/newtown-in-mourning-inundated-with-gifts-money.html Look at that! They let the children choose whatever they wanted from the gifts, and even allowed kids in neighboring cities to come too. And then there's this: "The town of some 27,000 with a median household income of more than $111,000 plans to donate whatever is left over to shelters or other charities." So people are being encouraged to donate to others (such as low income families) in memory of the Sandy Hook victims. Newtown appreciates the generosity, but wants to make sure others in need are taken care of as well.
This town has been overwhelmed by generosity and its going to take time to redistribute. Plus I know many people in this town like myself donated money, clothes, and other products to Hurricane Sandy victims and other tragedies around the world. And for that you come on this site and call us selfish ? God help you