Wauconda officials finalizing storyboards for Sept. 11 memorial
Wauconda officials are finalizing the wording of four, long-overdue storyboards planned for the town's Heroes of Freedom Memorial.
And they're doing so with the blessing of a member of the volunteer community group that originally oversaw the project but inexplicably stopped communicating with village leaders last year.
Local resident and Heroes of Freedom committee member Don Kutinac is satisfied with the proposed language for the storyboards, village documents indicate.
That's good news for village Trustee Tim Howe.
"I'm glad we're moving along and getting this done," Howe said Tuesday after a public review of the text by Wauconda's village services committee.
The memorial, which stands near Route 176 and Main Street, was dedicated in September 2015. It features a large wall listing the names of the people killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, a 7.5-ton steel column from one of the fallen World Trade Center buildings, and other elements.
Four planned storyboards that were to tell visitors about the terror attacks and the aftermath of those tragedies are absent, however.
The monument became the center of local controversy last year after then-Mayor Frank Bart and some political allies pushed for storyboards that would significantly mention the U.S. military's actions since the terror attacks. Bart is a military veteran.
The village board has final say over any text added to the memorial. Several trustees, including Howe, have sought to minimize mentions of the military to ensure the memorial remains focused on the Sept. 11 attacks.
In April, Bart and his allies championed an advisory ballot question that asked if the Heroes of Freedom Memorial should include text about the military's role in the global war on terrorism, the Iraq War and the war in Afghanistan.
An estimated 70 percent of Wauconda voters said "yes."
The language reviewed during Tuesday's meeting focuses on the timeline of Sept. 11, especially the fates of the four airplanes hijacked that morning. But they also include nods to people serving in the armed forces among the nation's "heroes of freedom," with specific references to the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard.
Officials envision the storyboards will be manufactured as bronze plaques and then attached to posts near four benches at the memorial.
"Four benches, four flights, four plaques," Howe said.
Trustees expect the plaques will be installed this spring, at which time a rededication ceremony will be held.
Village leaders also are pursuing linking the memorial site with Wauconda's veterans memorial, which is on park district-owned land just to the north.
"I really look forward to combining the two memorials ... and making that whole area respectful to those who serve and those who have served," Trustee Ken Arnswald said.