Moving History: Tinley Park to be Honored With Piece of the World Trade Center

residents and officials will soon pay their respects to Sept. 11 first responders, military personnel and citizens like never before.

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has approved Tinley to receive a 1,008-pound, 6 1/2 foot long beam from the World Trade Center. Officials said they expect to have the historical piece of twisted steel in time for their — a dedication in honor of the upcoming 10-year anniversary of 9-11.

"We initially meant for this to be a surprise," Chief Ken Dunn said Tuesday. "This is going to be for the cops, the police, the (Emergency Management Agency), public works and the dispatchers."

Though the beam should arrive in time for local 9-11 memorial ceremonies, its final resting place has yet to be decided. Mayor Ed Zabrocki said the village will create a committee tasked with determining its fate. Dunn said that decision could be as far as one year away.

Both Zabrocki and Dunn gave credit for the New York City artifact to Tinley Fire Department Public Education Coordinator Bill Proper, who they called "the man behind the beam." Out of town, he was unavailable to comment Tuesday.

"He was the guy who really pressed this," Zabrocki said. " … We couldn't be more excited and honored."

Potential sites for the piece include the and nearby Zabrocki Plaza, or the 80th Avenue train station, Zabrocki said, stressing that any of those locations are only possibilities.

Dunn noted Proper began the process of requesting the artifact almost four months ago. He said he hoped its delivery — it will most likely include local firefighters road tripping to pick it up — isn't affected by Hurricane Irene.

"As long as we get it in time, we'll have to find a place to put it so we can get it over there to the ceremony without a great deal of trouble," he said.

Zabrocki said he thinks the beam will add the perfect touch to local 9-11 ceremonies.

"To have this kind of object within our community to memorialize what happened on 9-11 and also to celebrate the lives of those people who were lost in the disaster … it's unbelievable," he said.

Like us on Facebook