Palmyra, N.Y. - There's a controversy brewing in the town of Palmyra over a roadside memorial that's been built for an 11-year-old boy who was killed while riding his bike back in 2010.
"It doesn't go away, it doesn't ever go away," Renee Corwin says about losing her son Max.
Through all the days since he's been gone, Renee, her family and friends have found comfort in the six foot tall roadside memorial Max's dad built along Maple Ave. in Palmyra. It's not just flowers or pictures of Max, but a wooden shadow box, complete with a Plexiglas cover to keep the memorial dry.
"We chose to build that memorial for him and also as kind of awareness to slow down in that area because there's a lot of children that play in the creek nearby," Renee says.
But two weeks ago, Renee got a letter from the Wayne County Highways Department asking her to remove the memorial.
"They want it removed within 45 days of December 29," she adds.
The letter was sent in part because neighbors who live next to the memorial say they have legitimate concerns about how close it is to a busy road where the speed limit is 55 m.p.h.
"It's just a matter before another accident is going to happen here," says Terry Footer, whose house sits a few hundred feet from Max's shadow box.
Grief has turned into something else, Terry says.
"Sometimes people will come down here and they're smoking, drinking a little bit and it goes on all hours, it can be any time of the day or into the night," Terry adds.
He doesn't want it gone altogether, just moved away from the road and downsized a bit.
"We want it to be a little less conspicuous, be compliant with the laws and be safe," he notes.
Renee says she would be happy to move the memorial or change it in any way necessary; she just doesn't want it gone completely. But according to the letter, she has until February to remove the memorial that marks the spot where her son died.
"Palmyra claims to be this community that cares about its residents, well then allow it to stay," she says.
