caption, page 5:

Step 1
Last week Killingly Fences installed the posts for the white vinyl panel fence in Putnam's Veterans Park. Linda Lemmon photo


Veterans Park -
respect will be
stepping up
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — As Memorial Day approaches hearts turn toward honoring our military.
The town’s active Veterans Advisory Committee took care of installing a new flagpole at the Grove Street Monument and once the new sidewalks are finished along that small area, benches and plantings will put the finishing touches on that veteran site.
The small bit of funding left over from thatGrove Street Monument project will be applied to the next project — the Veterans Memorial Park at the corner of Bridge and Church streets.
It will involve a multi-phase effort, according to committee chair Rob Challinor. The entire project will cost $200,000 to $300,000, he said.
The committee is a 5013C which will allow it to get grants and funding more easily.
The first phase at the Veterans Park began last week with the installation of a vinyl white panel fence. It’s installed on the synagogue level of the property and will have bushes along the fence, on the synagogue side.
Challinor said there will be a ramp on both sides of the fence to allow safe, easy access to the park level. The sidewalks through the park will be reworked to accommodate the current and future monuments to the various wars. The oval walkway around the American flag pole will become a circle.
Challinor said the committee plans to apply to the Ellis Tech program for help with concrete, masonry and electrical work. Some new lighting will be installed around the park and monuments will be lighted. Applications for this program open in September. In the meantime he said he expects the blueprints to be finished in June.
Monuments that will be added along the redone sidewalks include Desert Storm, Operation Desert Shield, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and a new one, Operation Inherent Resolve. The town already has its Beirut Monument in storage, waiting for its place in the revitalized  park.
Plans call for memorial bricks to be sold. He added a sign visible from three sides will be installed near the corner of Bridge and Church.

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