Walker County Commissioner Bebe Heiskell
Walker County officials have decided to use Tennessee-Georgia Memorial Park cemetery to design a memorial that has been in the works for 10 years for Tri-State Crematory victims.
Sole Commissioner Bebe Heiskell reviewed bids this week from three North Georgia companies that had proposed designs for a monument in honor of the 334 bodies found discarded at the Noble, Ga., crematory in 2002. The discovery attracted international attention and changed the way crematories are regulated.
The monument will be built using $45,000 allocated by the Georgia Legislature when the bodies were discovered.
Heiskell met last weekend with families of people whose bodies were found at the crematory after she was criticized earlier this year by some of them wanting to know why the money had not been spent. But Heiskell said those relatives could not agree on how they wanted a memorial built.
The three Georgia companies chosen to propose bids, D&S Monuments of Dalton, Ga.; Huggins Monuments of Chatsworth, Ga.; and Tennessee Georgia Memorial Park, presented proposals to Heiskell and family members.