Wauconda Heroes of Freedom Memorial not finished yet
With a scheduled public unveiling just one week away, Wauconda's Heroes of Freedom Memorial remains under construction.
The memorial is being built on Main Street south of Route 176, near the police station.
It was designed to honor the civilians, firefighters, paramedics and police officers who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, as well as the U.S. military personnel who have served since then.
A curved, black wall that's the largest element of the memorial is in place. So are planters and benches for visitors.
The text that's supposed to appear on the wall is missing, however. It will include the names of the people killed in the Sept. 11 attacks.
Additionally, story boards about those attacks and the elements of the monument haven't been constructed. The wording hasn't yet been approved by the village board, a critical requirement.
The proposed centerpiece of the memorial - a steel beam from one of the fallen World Trade Center towers - isn't in place yet, either. But it's supposed to be set atop its pentagonal base Saturday morning, said Police Chief Patrick Yost, a member of the committee heading the project.
Project organizer Kirk Morris is confident the memorial will be ready for its scheduled unveiling at 9 a.m. Sept. 11. He said a draft of the stories for the walls has been sent to the trustees and could be added before the ceremony.
"We're going through and approving all that stuff," Morris said. "I would expect them to be able to pull it all together."
But Trustee Linda Starkey said the proposed text for the story boards needs too many changes to be ready by Sept. 11.
"We don't want to rush into anything that's permanent," Starkey told the Daily Herald.
Trustee Ken Arnswald agreed.
"This is something that could last forever there, and we just want to make sure it's right," Arnswald said.
At Tuesday's village board meeting, Mayor Frank Bart proposed holding a special session next week to approve the text. Trustees were cool to the idea, however, and a meeting hasn't been scheduled.
Wauconda's memorial is being built on village-owned land, but volunteers are doing the work. Likewise, private donations are funding the project, so it won't cost taxpayers a dime.
Morris, a former Gurnee trustee, began championing the idea of a memorial after his son, Marine Pfc. Geoffrey Morris, was killed in Iraq in 2004.
A memorial initially was approved in Gurnee, but the project was scrapped because of various problems and political conflicts.
Morris is pleased with how the memorial looks so far.
"They're doing a great job," he said. "It's gorgeous. It'll stand there forever and ever and ever."