Monday, April 30, 2012

Volunteers push memorial project ahead


Last Thursday afternoon I covered a ceremonial groundbreaking for the long-awaited Broad Street Park project in Seymour. About 50 people, including elected officials, veterans, and families of veterans,  huddled in a gazebo at the site as a cold rain fell. 
What impressed me the most was the amount of volunteer work that has gone into the project. The lower Naugatuck Valley has often been called the Valley of Volunteers, and this veterans' memorial project is a perfect example of that volunteer spirit.
Seymour resident Al Yagovane, an Army veteran, has spent the last 27 years working on the park. It is at the corner of Broad and River streets, alongside the Naugatuck River.
The site already boasts a monument, flagpole, and gazebo, and is eventually going to feature walkways crafted from memorial bricks, fencing, lighting, and landscaping. The project has been helped by a $20,000 Katharine Matthies Foundation grant.

The Broad Street Park Renovation Committee members are: Sandy Cass; John Conroy Sr.; Kevin Cox; Melissa Girard; Michael Horbal; Theresa Spak; Clifford Strumello; Bill Wilin; Yagovane; Karl Zacharias.
Kudos to the committee and all who have given of their time and talents to develop this memorial to all veterans of all wars.

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