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Last Updated: Nov 14, 2008 - 7:10:45 PM |
Standing on the sidewalk outside the Chester Library last Wednesday afternoon, I took in a surreal view of the Fountain Square Plaza building with its slumping roofline and oddly angled porch railings. Water sprayed from a ruptured sprinkler system pipe as rescue teams circled the building like packs of wolves closing in on their prey. The teams of firefighters and special rescue specialists were working the perimeter to find the safest way in, to assure that the causalities were minimal.
For some it was frustrating to watch: it seemed as an eternity would pass between the times that firemen would focus on a particular part of the collapsed structure, probing a little deeper in an effort to locate missing construction worker Scott Giordano. Eventually, after multiply forays into the back of the building with search dogs and using a high-tech listening device in hopes of hearing a hopeful sound from inside, rescuers pinpointed the best place to enter and find Scott.
Known as Scottie to his friends and to his employer, Barney McLaughlin, who had known him for 25 years, Giordano was located and extricated from the wreckage of the job that he had given his life to help build.
As the drama of the day slowly unfolded, amateur engineers were not hard to find. Many of those lined up behind the police tape offered their opinion of what must have happened. Rumors circulated, and reports from contractors who were in or close to the building during the calamity, quickly spread among those concerned for then-missing Scott.
How quickly life can change. One’s future is always in question. Sometimes it takes a catastrophic event to bring it home; to slap us into realizing how tenuous our hold on life is. Scott Giordano was a friend to many and will be missed. But are there any lessons to be learned?
Sometimes I wonder about friends I haven’t had a chance to connect with in a while. I think about things I should have said to friends and family members I have lost over the years. As I get older, it becomes clearer to me how the thin thread of life can be so easily snipped.
I know this column is beginning to sound more like a Sunday-morning sermon than an editorial, but watching and waiting for hours on end to learn the fate of a working man gives you time to think. Scott was working on a project that is worthwhile in providing much-needed commercial development to the area and eventually jobs. At the same time, the project that he was working on would have brought the Village Green development, which is moving the center of Chester away from the Rt. 10 intersection, much nearer to completion.
The Chester Village Green is important to this side of the county in countless ways. First it solidifies Chester as a place. It offers an extended hometown atmosphere that rivals other communities in the region. On any given day one can find people out and about on the Village Green, strolling, walking their dog, heading to the library, or doing business.
It’s not uncommon on any evening to see a couple hand-in-hand, kids in tow, eating an ice cream from Country Style or pizza from Pizza Express. The Chester Village Green has brought about real community, a real hometown atmosphere in a hectic fast-paced world. Some people live there, but many come from other neighborhoods to enjoy the environment that is becoming the epitome of small town America. Scott’s family should be proud he had a part in that movement.
I hope that Wednesday’s sad event will be deemed just an unfortunate accident and that the builder will pick up the pieces and begin again; building a piece of Chester that will be stronger than ever; showing everyone an example of can-do confidence. I am also hoping that those the powers that be will dig in to help turn a tragedy into a success. I hope that those inside county departments will do a concise review of the plans for rebuilding and help move the project quickly and safely to completion.
It is extremely important that this incident is put behind us and we move forward to allow the realization of the vision of the Chester Village Green. While always keeping Scott in our thoughts, we should work to move on and remove any negative impressions that may linger after last week.
Now is the time for us to get back on our feet, dust ourselves off, and get back to the work of making Chester and Chesterfield the best.
mfausz@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421
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