Families able to donate in name of a veteran

Koochiching County’s veterans memorial is expected to be completed this fall while the county is beginning a campaign that would allow families to honor a veteran.
Commissioners agreed Tuesday to proceed with a proposal that calls for moving the memorial from the inside the courthouse to property between the courthouse and TruStar Federal Credit Union on Fourth Street.
The board approved landscaping of the area at a cost of $14,000 more than the budgeted cost.
Commissioners considered four different options for the memorial, but chose to complete the project without cutting any of the design.
“How do you put a price on the people who sacrificed their lives for this country?” board Chairman Wade Pavleck said, acknowledging his bias toward the project as a Vietnam War veteran.
Rather than cut the design, Pavleck said he favored finding more money.
The county board also agreed to allow families of veterans and veterans organizations donate money toward designating a bench or tree at the memorial in honor or in memory of a veteran. Commissioners expect the donations to help with the cost of the memorial. Donations are being collected through the county’s Veteran’s Service Office.
Commissioner Kallie Briggs said the benches and trees would personalize the memorial.
Veterans Service Officer Allen Kruse said after the memorial is complete, trees could continue to be donated in honor or in memory of a veteran. He also suggested adding a picnic table in honor or memory of a veteran.
Pavleck pointed to “The Wall that Heals,” a replica of the Vietnam Memorial that was in International Falls last year, as evidence of what a memorial means to the families. Commissioners and county staff attending the meeting agreed that many people have connections to veterans. About 1,400 veterans live in Koochiching County.
The memorial also will improve the appearance of the center of International Falls visually as it will fill an empty gap east of the courthouse, Pavleck said.
Commissioners, along with the county’s Highway Department, Veteran’s Service Office and Complex Department, have been working through the summer on the plan for the memorial.
However, the plans have been on hold recently because no bids were received for the concrete work needed. Local businesses were interested in bidding, but did not because of the circular design of the memorial, Building Complex Supervisor Terry Glowack said. The bid for the project went to Cone Concrete, of Bovey.
County Highway Engineer Doug Grindall said the circular design cause the cost of the plan to exceed the budgeted cost.
Although it is unknown when Cone Concrete can begin the project, commissioners were hopeful that it could be completed yet this fall with the trees and paint added next spring.