Committee suggests ways to honor veterans

Simon Husted

A special committee charged with finding a way to honor fallen local soldiers presented four options for city officials to vote on.

The Veterans Committee, made up of council members Erik Valenta and Jack Amrhein and Mayor Jerry Fiala met Wednesday to make suggestions on how the city can honor veterans.

An announcement on the committee’s decision is expected to be made sometime in September.

Suggestions submitted by the committee:

  • Renaming the Fairchild bridge, owned by the county, to honor veterans.
  • Naming the Crain Avenue Bridge, which is expected to turn into a pedestrian foot bridge, to honor veterans.
  • Renaming the drive into Theodore Roosevelt High School to honor veterans.
  • Work with the Parks and Recreation department to name the park underneath the Crain Avenue foot bridge in honor of veterans.

“They made the ultimate sacrifice and I think we need to find a way to honor them,” Valenta said during the meeting.

Valenta proposed the formation of the committee in early June following the funeral of fallen Army Spc. Adam Hamilton.

Hamilton’s mother, Nancy Krestan, attended the meeting.

“I just wanted everyone to know that we, in no way, want something named after Adam,” said Krestan, who resides in Mantua. “That’s not what we would want, that’s not what Adam would’ve wanted.”

No public input was offered during the committee meeting.

Contact Simon Husted at [email protected].