Heavy machinery clawed at the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday, reducing walls of painful memories to a pile of rubble.
Under heavy guard and a shroud of secrecy, work crews began the grim task of razing the Newtown, Conn., school 10 months after a murderer’s rampage killed 20 first-graders and six teachers last December.
The grounds are surrounded by “No Trespassing” signs and patrolled by security guards.
Contractors have signed confidentiality agreements, promising not to snap photos or talk about the demolition on social media.
Workers surrendered their cellphones at the start of the day.
To further ensure that ghouls don’t make off with souvenirs, the glass and bricks from the school will be pulverized, steel will be melted down and debris will be carted off and buried at a secret location.
“We have people showing up here every day who want to see the school,” said Newtown First Selectman Patricia Llodra. “We are not a tourist attraction or a large city. We are a small town of 28,000 that just wants to be left alone to heal.”
Some bricks will be recycled, and some of the dust will be used to construct a driveway and approach to a new school.
“The process of demolition is incremental, staged precisely, and executed carefully,” said Llodra.”
The town voted unanimously earlier this year to tear down the school and build a new one on the same site, using a $50 million state grant.
The demolition is slated to be finished by Dec. 14, the one-year shooting anniversary.
The new school should be finished by 2016.
With Post Wire Services
