For close to three weeks "the mess" you see [above] has been placed roadside near Pumpers gas station going toward the Pickens County Airport on Highway 178.
Two days ago, while windy as I drove by, a piece of this "display" fell from the tree and landed in the road. This has become a road hazard and gross neglect by Liberty officials to not have removed.
Looking at the picture above:
• Why are there six crosses when only one person died in this accident?
• This breaks county and state code. This code, to be sensitive, should be loosely enforced when considering memorials, but this is far beyond ANY level of rational display.
• The neighbors in this area DO NOT LIKE this and consider it trashy. They fear speaking up will make them sound insensitive or get them on the bad side of city officials or police.
In September ATLIBERTYTOSAY ran this piece:
From that article:
On Highway 178 (also called Moorefield Memorilal Highway) between Liberty and Pickens is a "memorial" for Austin Wesley Green ...
He died soon after an accident involving a Lakeview Baptist Church activity van that ran off the road on January 23rd 2008 ..
More details of this accident can be learned about here.
This is a sad situation and I certainly mean no disrespect for the deceased ... I must put myself in the "what if this were my son?" shoes ... but for the past 1.5+ years ... monthly elaborate, can I say "almost demented", memorials are erected on the side of the road where the accident occurred to commemorate a holiday. Currently scarecrows hang from a tree. (see above) What about scarecrows hung from a tree memorializes someone? Does the placement of these "memorials" not prolong the grieving rather than heal?
These memorials direct the eye to the side of the road and I believe may, one day, cause an accident. If not from the misdirected eye; because someone overcompensates to miss part of "the display" that may fall to the ground. It is an eyesore ... not a memorial. It doesn't invoke "memory" to me or to anyone that I've spoken to that's seen it ... instead it invokes a distasteful emotion.
How would this family feel if the "memorial" caused someone else's death?
I believe small well placed, but visible memorials; such as a white cross are fine ... but such elaborate set ups, that even perpetual care facilities wouldn't allow at the graveside service; is just too much. It should be prosecuted as littering ... but the police I'm sure would be seen as insensitive.
From my investigation of this story the "Green family" (who sued Lakeview Baptist Church) won a rather large monetary settlement. Is this how they spend their money? One would hope that they could set up a college scholarship fund instead of mocking the church members of Lakeview.
This story [below] appeared two days after I posted this story in The local Pickens edition of the GreenvilleNews:
Easley Wants Roadside Memorials RemovedPete Poore, director of communications for the state Department of Transportation, said state law prohibits anything other than valid traffic signs from being placed in the public right of way along the state highway system.
Poore said the state DOT doesn’t keep track of the number of illegal roadside memorials.
Jason Allison, DOT’s maintenance engineer for its Upstate district, said technically the memorials aren’t supposed to be in public rights of way.
“But unless it’s creating a public nuisance, we kind of look the other way and allow them out of respect for the family,” he said.
6 COMMENTS / Make your own:
I agree, but this is not a "Liberty officials" concern. This should be the concern of the county and state. It is outside of the city limits of Liberty.
I disagree (to a degree) ... on behalf of Liberty residents that travel this road frequently it should be requested that there be removal this "disturbing memorial" immediately and issue a citation to the people erecting such if they continue to pollute this area.
If not within Liberty Police jurisdiction, Pickens County Sheriff's Department should be notified and asked to take action.
They could place a warning at the site with a note that reads:
"We are sympathetic to your loss, even though any memorial is against county guidelines ... we will allow a simple display of a cross from this point on. Thank you for your cooperation."
This is the most disrespectful thing I have ever seen. These are parents who are decorating the site where there son was killed. NO ONE had the right to remove the items from the road and put a picture on this website and write anything about it. To whoever done this..I dont even see how you can sleep at night, imagine if this was your son!!!
If they are placed back I will have SCDOT remove it again.
The memorial as left is STILL breaking code but reasonable.
Whoever is erecting this is littering and putting lives at risk.
One other thing ...
Please tell me the specific rights I don't have to publish this picture or discuss this issue.
I'm not in total disagreement with a sane memorial. But the bank behind the memorial is littered along with the tree line. These objects could come out into the road and cause a wreck - not to mention kill whoever puts it up or tries to take it down to comply with state law.
To Brandi: It is sad, but obvious that the family is suffering from extreme mental anguish. This particular "memorial" had turned into an ugly distracting junk heap. Putting other drivers' lives at risk on the highway by erecting a huge display of fluttering litter and debris is not a "right" for the grieving family.
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