Veterans unveil memorial plans

City Council members on Monday heard proposals for two monuments, the first that would honor veterans and the second that commemorates Libby as the City of Eagles.

Libby businessman Terry Andreessen, representing local veterans groups, was the first to address the Council, and he was followed by Shanda Jennings, the executive director of the Libby Area Chamber of Commerce. 

For Andreessen, an Army veteran, the presentation marked the second time in three months he has approached the Council about a memorial at Riverfront Park. 

During the Council’s first meeting in July, Andreessen, with fellow local businessman Brent Teske, approached the board about the memorial at the recently renovated park. On Monday, Andreessen was accompanied by Teske (Navy) once again and other fellow veterans Dennis Osborne and Larry King, Marine and Army vets respectively, and they came equipped not only with ideas for the tribute but an artist’s rendering for the monument.

   Other Veterans Memorial Committee members include Larry Pitcher, American Legion representative; Kenny Mancuso, treasurer; Wes Huffman, VFW rep; and Dan Hahn. Osborne is the committee president, Andreessen is vice president; Teske is secretary, and King also is an American Legion rep.

   Andreessen presented Council members with a sheet depicting the monument on a pentagon-shaped pedestal with a World War II-era soldier pulling a wounded modern-day warrior to safety as he returned fire with an automatic rifle indicative of today’s fighting soldier.

   “That’s the idea,” Teske said Tuesday. “We want to make it as true to those fighting soldiers of the day as we can, right down to the helmets and uniforms.”

   Local artist Todd Berget sketched the idea for the committee.

   Preliminary plans are for the pedestal to be about six-feet tall and four-feet wide with the bronze on top to be four-feet tall. Andreessen indicated the first person they thought of to create the bronze is a local sculptor.

   “Hopefully, we can get Scott Lennard to do this. We’d like to make this as locally as possible,” Andreessen said. 

   Andreessen said they committee hoped to pull the whole monument together for between $75,000 to $100,000. 

   In July, Andreessen hinted the committee was considering greenspace for the monument between the two pavilions at Riverfront Park. On Monday, Andreessen admitted the committee was pulling back from that request and hinted an area more centrally located within the park might be more suitable.

   “We’re looking for a space about 75-by-75, somewhere in the center of the park,” he said.

   Plans are for the five branches of the military to be represented on each side of the pedestal. Funding for the project will come from donations and bricks the committee will  sell to honor veterans. For a $100 donation, families and friends may honor a veteran on a brick with three lines of engraving, Andreessen said. The first line would include the service member’s name; the second line would include their rank and branch of service, with the third line being the dates of their service. Bricks will spiral outward from the monument.

   Persons wishing to make a contribution to the Lincoln County Veterans Memorial Fund may do so by sending a check to: Veterans Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 1638, Libby, Mont., 59923. Donations are tax-deductable, as the committee is using the VFW’s 501(c)3 status. 

   Andreessen said the committee also is thinking of accepting donations that will be classified into three categories from bronze to gold, indicating a $250 to $499 for bronze; $500 to $999 for silver and $1,000 and greater would be gold.

   “We just need to get an idea from the city about how to proceed with this,” Andreessen said. “If we could get an answer within 30 days, that would be terrific,” Andreessen said.

   Mayor Doug Roll suggested the Veterans Memorial Committee schedule a meeting with the Parks Committee to meet that goal.

   Osborne, the committee president, said it is the committee’s hope to dedicate the memorial by Veterans Day 2013.

   The second monument involved creating the world’s largest bald eagle, which Jennings proposed for the end of Mineral Avenue.

   “People will come to see the world’s largest ball of twine,” Jennings said. “I know people would come to see the world’s largest bald eagle.”

   Jennings, who estimated the eagle would cost about $60,000 and be 50-feet wide, would be illuminated and visible from highways 37 and 2.

   As a fundraiser, the Chamber is supporting a drawing for a smaller eagle for $10 each. Tickets are available at the Chamber office, First Montana Bank, Cabinet Mountain Furniture. Both the sculpture being raffled and the world’s largest would be creations by Berget.

   In other business, the Council …:

   • Recognized City Councilwoman Vicky Lawrence for her contributions to the park committee and for her service to Libby’s parks. Mayor Roll applauded Lawrence for her hours of service for the betterment of the parks and community.

   • Heard Mayor Roll express concerns about wildlife in the Cabinet Heights neighborhood. Roll specifically mentioned a man who was confronted by a bear when he went out to clean up trash scattered about by the bear. Roll suggested residents who experience problems with wildlife they go through the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department dispatcher so there is a record of the call instead of just calling the Montana Department of Fish & Game on their own. Roll suggested residents be more aware of wildlife and store trash containers in garages instead of outdoors. “It’s a problem,” Roll said, indicating the agency is in the process of locating a live trap up in that area. “It is a contention by the Fish & Game people that some of the problems are caused by residents feeding the animals,” he said referring to residents who leave food out for deer, which also are a problem in that neighborhood.