Plain trustee discusses plans for POW/MIA memorial in Veterans Park

PLAIN TWP. − The township is moving forward with plans to place a granite-stone memorial in Veterans Park to honor U.S. service members who were or remain prisoners of war or remain missing in action.

Trustee Scott Haws on Tuesday said he has discussed within the past couple of months the POW/MIA memorial with Ken Noon, a veteran who owns Summit Memorials in Akron.

Noon sketched a draft design. He proposed a 7-foot tall black or gray granite structure with the emblem of the official POW/MIA flag. The emblem says "POW" and "MIA" with a star in between. It has the silhouette of a prisoner of war by a guard tower and barbed wire over the words in capital letters, "YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN."

The National Leagues of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia adopted it as its official emblem during the Vietnam War.

Above the emblem is a widening crack in the sculpture and two rope-bound hands emerge at the top.

Haws wants to place the POW/MIA memorial on the hill at Veterans Park on Schneider Street NE with several other memorials honoring veterans.

Haws estimates the cost will be at least $10,500 if Noon can find the materials at a reasonable cost. But he said a sculpture of this size would often retail at $15,000 to $18,000. Haws said he will raise the entire amount with donations, hopefully by the end of March. Haws said no public or taxpayer funds will be used for the memorial.

The trustee said with his own donation and a match from his employer, he's already raised about $3,200. And Fiscal Officer Tom Wolf has raised about $1,000.

"That's an amazing design," township Administrator Lisa Campbell said.

"I like it," Trustee John Sabo said.

Trustee Brook Harless, an Army veteran, said the memorial would be "a very powerful statement. I think it will bring a lot of attention to the many soldiers we have been unable to bring home. ... It's going to bring a lot of attention to what a lot of soldiers' families have gone through."

Haws said while the rope-bound hands in the sculpture are white in the sketch, he expects they would eventually be gray to match the color of the rest of the memorial.

More grant money

Separately, Campbell told the trustees that the township had gotten a $50,000 destination enhancement grant from Visit Canton to fund promoting events to visitors from out of town at the township amphitheater now under construction by Oakwood Square.

Echo Solutions won the bid to sell and install audio equipment at the amphitheater for $151,922.

Haws said the township has received a grant of $141,125 from the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District to help fund the township's purchase of nearly 20 acres of land by Veterans Park. The land is owned by Compassion Church at 1920 Schneider St. NE. The township has a purchase agreement to buy the property for $550,000 by June next year contingent on the township getting grant funding to finance the purchase. Haws said the township has received a $410,000 state grant to help cover the cost of buying the land.

"This is an amazing opportunity to preserve green space that's very high quality," said Haws.

Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. Twitter: @rwangREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Plain Township Trustee advances plans to build POW/MIA memorial