WALDRON — Hundreds of veterans and their family members bought engraved bricks for a walkway to honor Scott County veterans. But more than five years later, the monument outside Memorial Hall still hasn’t been built.
A measuring stick showing construction progress is propped up where the walkway would go, but the progress mark hasn’t moved in years,said widows of veterans who bought bricks to honor their husbands.
Concrete blocks for the monument sit unused at Memorial Hall, a 1948 veterans dance hall and meeting place that the county is renovating. More than 500 bricks, bought for $25 apiece, are in storage, all engraved with the names of veterans.
Meanwhile, thousands of dollars in donations have been placed in a trust meantto maintain the memorial.
Some critics of the project’s slow pace have said the county, which owns Memorial Hall, should take control. Others have said the Waldron Area Chamber of Commerce, which appointed the committee overseeing the project, should take responsibility.
Since the committee was formed around 2005, one member has died and one became too ill to attend meetings. That leaves Wynell Yorkand Barbara Hawkins.
York, head of the committee, would not talk about the monument because her husband, Charles, is ill with cancer.
Hawkins said the committee uses volunteer labor and the memorial is just taking time to complete. No one ever promised when it would be finished, she said.
“There’s some [people] down here that need to go plant a garden or something,”Hawkins said. “I don’t understand why people can’t be patient and go with the flow.”
Johnnie Sue Rogers is among the top brick sellers for the memorial, having sold about 100 bricks for $2,500, she said. Donations also came in to the County Veterans Service Office, which turned it over to the committee, service officer Leran Holmes said.
Rogers said she has seen no progress in the past two years.
The committee had a groundbreaking ceremony in April 2009. That year, committee members also decided to hold a dedication ceremony for the monument, said Christine Lees, whose late husband was a member of the veterans committee. Families living out of state bought tickets and people made plans to fly or drive in, but the ceremony never happened, she said.
County Judge James Forbessaid frustrated veterans have called him almost daily to complain or ask about the monument. Others have called Kenny Finney, the local Veterans of Foreign Wars commander, who is not involved with the project.
Last month, about 20 veterans, their wives and family members gathered at the chamber of commerce office to hear an update on the monument, Rogers said. Lloyd Hattabaugh, a veteran and former justice of the peace, said Forbes and chamberPresident Jeff Brewer agreed the monument’s construction should move forward immediately. Since the meeting, nothing has happened, he said.
“The property is owned by the county, but Judge Forbes says he can’t do anything until it is out of the hands of the chamber of commerce,” Rogers wrote in an e-mail. “I think everyone would be willing to say the problem lies with Mrs. Hawkins and Mrs. York.”
Brewer talked about the memorial in January, then later didn’t return calls for further comment.
He said in January thatthe chamber appointed a four-member committee to oversee maintenance for Memorial Hall. Committee members took it upon themselves to build the walkway, he said.
Greenwood lawyer Troy Gaston said he helped committee members start a nonprofit organization about 2 1/2 years ago so donations to the monument could be tax deductible. Committee members then started a trust fund, and the chamber donated to it, Hawkins confirmed.
Many people interviewed said York could say how much money is in the trust, but she declined to comment.
Forbes said he talked last week with Brewer, who told him the chamber has decided to appoint a new committee. Forbes said he did not know whether the original committee would be dissolved but he plans to support the chamber’s action. Forbes said he thinks York and Hawkins should be on the new committee.
“This is such a sensitive issue,” Forbes said. “It’s just a matter of everybody coming to a happy agreement on it. I don’t have a problem with them being on the committee, but I think they need some help.”
Finney said Forbes oncetried to put veterans on the committee but couldn’t because the committee is under the chamber.
“It’s all kind of mixed up,” Lees said. “It seems like there’s more questions on it than answers.”
Those who have already purchased bricks are disappointed, said Finney, who is holding off on buying a brick of his own until construction begins.
Virginia Simpson bought a brick for her husband, Sam, on Dec. 10, 2006, because he served from 1944, during World War II, until 1968, during the Vietnam War, she wrote in e-mail.
“Sadly, Sam passed away in May 2010 without ever seeing the Veterans Memorial Walkway being finished,” she said.
Veterans continue to buy bricks for the monument, Lees said. Her late husband bought a brick with his own name.
“I’m sure they’ll get it settled someday, hopefully before I die,” she said.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 17 on 02/27/2011