Ledger-Dispatch

By Bethany A. Monk (bmonk@ledger-dispatch.com) =

The memorial for a slain El Dorado = County toddler=20 was in good repair in March, when it originally was set up in=20 Martell.

Photo by: Kelly = Scott

But after months exposed to the = elements, the=20 memorial deteriorated until it was finally taken down this = month.

Photo by: Bethany A.=20 Monk
The memorial items meant to honor the = life of=20 a boy whose body was dumped in the wooded area near Kmart were disposed = of last=20 week after several months of enduring the outside elements.

In = March,=20 after 2-year-old Andrew Bailey was allegedly killed in El Dorado County = by his=20 father Charles, his body was left in Amador County near Wicklow Way in = Martell.=20 The local community created a memorial to honor the slain toddler. = Stuffed=20 animals, flowers and a sign that read "In Memory of Andrew Bailey" with = notes=20 and prayers, were placed on the bridge railing on Wicklow Way off = Highway 88=20 between Kmart and Wal-Mart.

Some members of the community became=20 concerned when, after sitting three months under the sun and, sometimes, = the=20 pouring rain, the memorial items began to dilapidate - the stuffed toys = wizened,=20 the sign faded and worn by mid-June. Some residents recently wrote the = Ledger=20 Dispatch concerning the issue. One person called the county's Public = Works=20 department a couple weeks ago, prompting the department to remove the = items,=20 said Sharon Murphy, Amador County Public Works Department administrative = assistant. The memorial was removed last Tuesday, she added. "It's so = sad what=20 happened to the little boy," said Margaret McLaughlin, a 30-year Pioneer = resident who wrote a letter to the editor about the issue. Her letter = appears on=20 today's Perspective page. McLaughlin was one of the residents who was = concerned=20 about the memorial's decaying condition, but is not the person who = called Public=20 Works.

Charles Bailey was formally charged on March 18 for the = kidnapping=20 and death of his son, the attempted murder of his girlfriend - Andrew's = mother -=20 whom he attacked with an ax, and the use of a deadly weapon. He is also = accused=20 of killing his son with a screwdriver. There are no updates in the case, = according to Sgt. Jim Byers of the El Dorado County Sheriff's = Department. When=20 first placed on the roadside, the memorial was "wonderful," McLaughlin = said,=20 praising the residents of Amador County for creating the tribute. But = after a=20 month or so, she added, the memorial "looked more like an insult than a = tribute"=20 to the boy. "I couldn't believe the stuff was still there." =

After Public=20 Works received the phone call regarding the condition of the memorial,=20 department representatives cleared the memorial and disposed of the toys = due to=20 their condition. The state Department of Transportation is responsible = for=20 memorials and roadside markers placed on state highways, and the county = for ones=20 placed on county roads, Murphy said. A permanent memorial for Andrew = Bailey=20 would be nice, but because "things like this" happen so frequently in = today's=20 society, "we'd be buried with memorials," McLaughlin said. However, a = plaque=20 honoring him would be appropriate, she said. A Kmart manager in Martell = said the=20 store's staff was unable to comment on the issue.

Bethany A. = Monk