base283 0 #1 June 6, 2004 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18948-2004Jun5.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydyvr 0 #2 June 6, 2004 How is that even a tiny bit heroic. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18948-2004Jun5.html . . =(_8^(1) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gravitymaster 0 #3 June 6, 2004 QuoteHow is that even a tiny bit heroic. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18948-2004Jun5.html Can you post the article? Even though it's a hometown paper, I can't bring myself to register. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydyvr 0 #4 June 6, 2004 QuoteCan you post the article? Even though it's a hometown paper, I can't bring myself to register. It's the article about the bulldozer rampage in CO. --- GRANBY, Colo., June 5 -- An angry citizen with a grudge against City Hall and the local newspaper was found dead Saturday morning in his home-made armored tank after a destructive rampage that turned parts of downtown Granby into rubble heaps Friday -- but injured no one except the perpetrator. Police said they worked much of the night with torches and plastic explosives to break through the foot-thick armor welded to a 53-ton Caterpillar D9 bulldozer. The man who wrecked much of Granby, welder Marvin John Heemeyer, 52, was found dead inside, apparently a suicide. Before he died, though, Heemeyer had fired machine guns and rifles and smashed his armored vehicle into offices, businesses and a house along Agate Avenue, the main street of this mountain town surrounded by ski resorts, national park land and snow-capped 14,000-foot peaks. Heemeyer's one-man uprising against the local establishment came to an end about 4:30 Friday afternoon when he rumbled through the front wall of Gamble's Department Store -- a business owned by a planning board member who voted against Heemeyer in a heated dispute in 2000. The front of the massive bulldozer then fell through the floor of the store and was left dangling at an angle, witnesses said. Police warily approached the vehicle but found it welded shut and armored with a covering of concrete and steel. By Saturday morning, when the driver's hatch was finally blown open, Heemeyer was dead. "It's amazing what one person can do," said Colorado Gov. Bill Owens (R), who traveled by helicopter to inspect the damage in this town of 1,500. Astonished Granbyites echoed that notion as they strolled main street to assess the ruins. "City Hall is a pile of bricks, and I mean, that's all," said motel owner Jerry Brenner. "The cement batch plant, up there where he started, that whole factory is going to have to come down. He found his targets, and he wrecked them good." In a town where everybody knows just about everybody else, many people said they were aware that Heemeyer had been nursing a grudge for years against various residents. His rage evidently dated to 2000, when he fought in vain to get the local planning authority to block construction of a plant. The factory was approved and went up just across the road from a muffler shop that Heemeyer then owned. He had a running feud with the editor of Granby Sky-High News, the local newspaper, over that planning dispute and other issues. Neighbors said Heemeyer was forced to sell the muffler shop to pay debts. Recently, a fire at his home destroyed his most cherished possession, his snowmobile -- a vehicle considered essential in a community where winter runs from September to April and brings an average of 100 inches of snow per year. Working for months in a closed garage, Heemeyer equipped an old bulldozer with three television cameras and monitors so he could see to steer. He cut portholes for his guns, then welded a tight enclosure around them so police bullets could not penetrate. For armor, he poured 12 inches of concrete between metal plates welded to the vehicle. Police found two semiautomatic machine guns, a .223-caliber rifle and two handguns in the vehicle. All those weapons are legal in Colorado. Heemeyer started down his road to revenge Friday afternoon. He bashed in the cement plant, then rumbled through town to the combination City Hall and library. Librarian Cathy Pritchard said she said she hustled a group of children attending story hour out the back door just before the building fell. The tank then rumbled back onto the main street and plowed into the newspaper office, which was leveled. Heemeyer smashed a bank, an electric utility office and the house. With the driver's cabin of his vehicle enclosed in armor, Heemeyer clearly had difficulty steering. "He was veering everywhere, taking out trees and light posts," said Agate Avenue gun shop owner Terri Hertel. "But he only hit the buildings he seemed to be aiming for." Heemeyer fired several times at the propane tanks at Independent Gas. There was no explosion. He then smashed the home of a former mayor who had supported the cement plant in the planning case, and headed toward his smash-in at the department store. In all, the bulldozer traveled about four miles up and down the main street about 2 mph. © 2004 The Washington Post Company . . =(_8^(1) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
base283 0 #5 June 6, 2004 I said it was a potential. anyways, you can use the [email protected] for an address that does not last but is valid... take care, space Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michele 1 #6 June 6, 2004 Sorry. I must've missed something. "Potential hero" for whom/what? Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jerry81 10 #7 June 6, 2004 QuoteSorry. I must've missed something. "Potential hero" for whom/what? I guess for people who have been ripped off (or feel they were) by the 'establishment', people who feel the common person can never win against bureaucracy and politicians, at least not in a legal way...I guess there are a lot of people like that and I guess that they could see this man's rampage as getting back at those who held him down. But I think people's views on the nature and reasons for heroism vary greatly, so there's a 'potential hero' in most every situation. We might as well discuss which flavour of ice cream is the best... btw, you're a Stephen King fan if I recall correctly. Did you ever read 'Road Work'? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michele 1 #8 June 7, 2004 Quote We might as well discuss which flavour of ice cream is the best... You're silly. Of course it depends on my mood, but Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey is closest to heaven in a pint carton that I know. Same with Cherry Garcia.... Quotebtw, you're a Stephen King fan if I recall correctly. Did you ever read 'Road Work'? Yes, I did read Road Work. Interesting, as most of his stuff is. IMHO, this guy isn't a hero. Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimbo 0 #9 June 7, 2004 QuoteYou're silly. Of course it depends on my mood, but Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey is closest to heaven in a pint carton that I know. Same with Cherry Garcia.... Uh, no Michele, finally you are mistaken. Everyone knows that the best ice cream is Ben and Jerry's Phish Food. And I thought you were one of us! - Jim"Like" - The modern day comma Good bye, my friends. You are missed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michele 1 #10 June 7, 2004 Jim, please don't condemn me. I've not had Phish Food...and because I haven't, I can't speak to it's merits. Hey. In the interest of fairness, how about I buy a pint of it this week, eat it, and then report back my comparison? I'll do that for the team. 'Twill be a sacrifice, but I can suck it up and do so... Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimbo 0 #11 June 7, 2004 I look forward to reading the review! - Jim"Like" - The modern day comma Good bye, my friends. You are missed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydyvr 0 #12 June 7, 2004 QuoteBut I think people's views on the nature and reasons for heroism vary greatly, so there's a 'potential hero' in most every situation. I'm sure some sick people see John Wayne Gacy Jr. as a hero too, but that doesn't make him one, or even potentially one. The guy in the bulldozer harmed the lives of hundreds of people who never did him any harm. There isn't a bit of hero in that. . . =(_8^(1) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FliegendeWolf 0 #13 June 7, 2004 My feeling on this whole thing is: this guy develops what seems to be an unstoppable, bulletproof, explosive proof vehicle, and he shoots himself at the end? Christ, he should have patented the damn thing and sold them to the military!A One that Isn't Cold is Scarcely a One at All Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jerry81 10 #14 June 7, 2004 Quote I'm sure some sick people see John Wayne Gacy Jr. as a hero too, That was exactly my point. Quote but that doesn't make him one, or even potentially one. To you and me, certainly. To said sick people, why not? Anyway, I never understood how people can make such a big deal out of ice cream. I mean, I don't even like the stuff. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crwmike 0 #15 June 7, 2004 Quotehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18948-2004Jun5.html Nope, but the mutherfucker had style. Michael Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tonto 1 #16 June 7, 2004 No Hero here. A Zero, with low self esteem, a chip on his shoulder and an inability to let something go, which ultimately ruined both his own life and possibly 100's of others. tIt's the year of the Pig. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kennedy 0 #17 June 8, 2004 Washington Post? A hometown paper? Bwah hahahahahaha If it weren't for the NY papers, I'd call the WashPost the 'LA Times of the east coast.'witty subliminal message Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards. 1* Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest #18 June 9, 2004 QuoteQuotehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18948-2004Jun5.html Nope, but the mutherfucker had style. Michael I'll vouch for that. He shouldn't have shot himself though. He didn't injure anyone, and the notoriety would have gotten him a star defense team. Add a book and movie deal, and you've got a pop-culture icon. mh ."The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
