by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Thirteen members of City Council are cosponsoring a bill that would allocate $160,000 for two additional walls at the Veteran’s Memorial Wall. Dedicated Memorial Day 2004, the wall cost $1.5 million and contains the names of over 1,500 local veterans. Time — and the war in Iraq — have dictated the necessity to add to the wall, a project City Council President Michael Corrigan is more than willing to help fund.
“The idea came up and I’m totally supportive,” said Corrigan. “As Council president, it’s my responsibility to take the lead.”
The project is being funded primarily by Council Autumn Bonds and Corrigan has pledged $20,000 from his bond account. Those accounts were set up for the Council’s 14 district members a few years ago by Mayor John Peyton. Each account originally had $1 million in it. Some Council members have spent most or all of those funds. However some, like Corrigan, have funds left and are using a portion of them for the project. Others may have used all of their Autumn Bond money, but have pooled funding from other sources within their district and most have committed to $10,000. Those Council members are: Warren Alvarez, Richard Clark, Sharon Copeland, Daniel Davis, Art Graham, Suzanne Jenkins, Mia Jones, Pat Lockett-Felder, Lake Ray, Lynette Self, Art Shad and Gwen Yates.
Corrigan said Alvarez first approached him with the idea which is now in the form of an ordinance that Corrigan plans to introduce at the next full Council meeting. The wall is a monument to those who have fallen in the line of duty and the current war in Iraq has created the need for 14 more names. Also, according to Dwayne Moore – whose father Ray was instrumental in getting the wall built — there are five more names from the Korean and Vietnam wars that need to go on the wall.
“I have been to it a couple of times and last year I had the honor of laying the wreath,” said Corrigan. “Jacksonville has been, and always will be, a Naval town. The men and women of the military are a lot of what Jacksonville is.”
Moore said 14 names from the Korean and Vietnamese wars would have been on the original wall, but there wasn’t room. Moore said he and his father approached Alvarez about adding to the wall and securing some funding for the repair and maintenance of the memorial. Alvarez told the Moores he’d get it done before he leaves office at the end of June.
“Maybe we will purchase three walls because it’s less expensive,” said Moore, whose family owns and operates Southern Monument Company, Inc. The company helped install the wall and engrave the names. “I’d only have to pay shipping once.”
Moore said each section of it is Vermont granite and weighs approximately three tons (6,000 pounds). No date has been selected to install the new sections — the funding has to be approved and they have to be ordered – but Moore said the week before a ceremony his company will engrave the new names and clean the entire memorial.
In addition to getting two new sections, Moore said sections of the memorial need to be repaired due to damage done by skateboarders. Moore said he and his father have caught skateboarders jumping into the granite benches and warned them. However, at the time, there was no City ordinance banning skateboarding around the memorial. Today, there is and the fine is $25 if caught.
“Skateboarders are doing the damage and if we can catch them we can make their parents pay for the damages,” said Moore. “The benches aren’t ruined, but they need to be buffed. There are pin stripes from the boards on the tops of the benches and the sides have been loosened.”