Pikeville unveils veterans memorial design
By Sam Atkins
Published in News on January 4, 2005 1:57 PM
PIKEVILLE -- The town board viewed a drawing Monday of what a proposed veterans memorial would look like. But it has not decided where in town it will go.
Dennis Lewis, resident, developed the idea for the memorial and said it would be all brick, 25 feet wide and seven and a half feet tall.
It would have a walkway, and stones in honor of victims of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, including fireman, rescue workers, police officers and civilians. There will also be five service medallions for the different branches of service.
The total cost of the memorial is around $7,000. Lewis said they still need to raise around $5,300.
He plans to pay for the medallions by selling meals the last Friday of every month beginning Jan. 28. He said most of the cost of the brick has been donated, along with the electrical and lighting, stone, lettering and flagpole.
A completion date of Nov. 5 is expected, and a dedication ceremony is planned for Dec. 4. Lewis said he plans to invite U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones as a guest speaker and have veterans from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in attendance. They will also pay tribute to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
Electrical upgrades
Deborah Marm, a representative from Rep. Jones' office, attended the meeting Monday and the board presented her with information on the town's need to expand and to upgrade its electrical system.
The power system dates back to 1918, and many of the electrical lines are corroded causing the loss of power. The town's electrical transformers are not compatible with neighboring towns, and if there was a wide-spread outage, the town could be without power for weeks, the letter states.
Power outages have become more routine in the town, and in 2003-2004 there were approximately 30 outages.
The engineering cost of the upgrade is about $60,000, and the board is hoping that Jones will help in securing funding.
The letter states the town has already been unsuccessful securing grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Depart-ment of Interior and other state agencies.