Scott County war memorial revamp should finish in time for dedication

BENTON, Mo. -- Scott County's updated war memorial on the Courthouse lawn in Benton should be ready in time for its dedication in about two months, but preparations could come down to the wire.

The county government and a committee of private citizens working on the project plan to dedicate the updated memorial on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m. In order for that to happen, though, the work of raising money to pay for the project and the actual work on the memorial must be done quickly.

But the entire process of seeing the $10,000 update to reality has been a quick one. In May the Scott County Commission gave County Developer Joel Evans the task of researching the memorial's history and working with volunteers to see the renovation through by the Veterans Day deadline.

Despite the short time left before November, project volunteer Blair Moran of Sikeston said he feels confident the update will be completed on time.

"I don't think we'll have any problem making this a reality for Nov. 11," said Moran.

County Presiding Commissioner Martin Priggel said the deadline will be tight, but he expects the project to be completed in time.

So far $3,500 has been raised from private contributions for the project. Evans said there should be no problem getting all the funds together in time to pay for the project before the dedication.

"We're still a long way from it, but we're getting there," said Evans.

Evans said the real work of raising funds just began in recent weeks. Before that the contributions came from proactive individuals and organizations who sought out the committee to donate the funds.

Scott City Councilman Norman Brant has been doing much of that work in the county's northern sections. Brant said support has been strong in the county's northern half, once residents actually find out a memorial exists and will be updated.

"This has nothing to do with whether you're Republican or Democrat or Catholic or Baptist," Brant said. "You're American, and I think that's why we're getting such a good response."

Brant said when he talks to people about the memorial, the most common question he hears is, "Now where's this at?'"

"Everybody's seen it, but never paid attention to it," Brant said. "Now the people who have seen it think it will be great."

The current memorial was dedicated in 1940 and has only the names of county residents killed in combat in World War I. The updated memorial will list the names of those killed in all wars including and after World War I.

The renovation consists of creating new bronze plaques to list the names, installing a new fountainhead on the monument, installing new plumbing and refinishing the monument's masonry. Much of the work is being done by volunteers, Evans said.

For more information on the memorial, visit www.scott countymo.com or call Evans at (573) 545-3549.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182