Veterans park resumes its advance

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By Preston Knight -- pknight@nvdaily.com

MT. JACKSON -- The whole point in having a veterans memorial park is to be able to forever remember those who have served and are continuing to serve their country.

So it comes with a cruel bit of irony that, in the public's eye, the park has seemingly been forgotten about.

Mt. Jackson officials first broached the idea for the park more than five years ago, identifying a small triangular lot at the site of the old town hall on the corner of King and Main streets for its location. Much has happened since to take focus away from it, however, such as a new wastewater plant, the digging of wells, improvements at the town pool and the development of a visitor's park north of the current town hall.

Also, the veterans park site has "cables galore" underground, Mayor Joe Williams said last week.

"We had to get with [the phone company]," he said. "That took a while. Now, we're all hyped up again."

Indeed, the park that will remember veterans of all U.S. military branches -- and not just those people with Mt. Jackson ties -- has not been forgotten. Harrisonburg architect Dale Cupp met with the park's committee earlier this month, and will do so again with more formal artistic renderings next month. A public hearing is slated for Dec. 8.

The preliminary drawing shows a monument with a 50-foot radius for the 50 states, pylons for the 13 original colonies, emblems for the six armed service divisions, three 20-foot flagpoles, several granite benches, granite plaques, plantings and more.

Cupp said the drawing is a work in progress and that all thoughts and ideas should be gathered by the time of the committee's meeting in November.

"Something like this, it develops into a sacred space," he said. "We're treating it as sacred."

Williams, who has lobbied for the memorial since becoming mayor, said the project will probably be done in phases. No cost estimate has been made, and Cupp said it's difficult to come up with one because so many local businesses have expressed interest in donating various things to the cause.

This goes to show that while it may appear as if the park idea has been forgotten, it has not. The unfortunate part, Williams said, is that four of the original members of the park committee have died since it was created, adding to the reasons why he "hates" governmental red tape.

But, at least it's better late than never.

"I'm excited about it," Williams said. "At least we're talking about it again."