EDITORIAL

The Advocate-Messenger

The Boyle County Fiscal Court should be commended for its forward thinking in protecting the county’s veterans wall memorial with a restricted deed.

The plat for the new 1.8-acre “Veterans Memorial Park” must still be finalized and recorded, but we don’t foresee any delays or problems in accomplishing that. Once in place, the memorial will be protected in the future if plans change for the surrounding land.

It might be difficult to imagine anything happening to the memorial — why would anyone want to move or get rid of such a beautiful and meaningful space that the community can take great pride in?

But change can and does happen, and a lot of change has happened in the vicinity of the memorial just recently: Danville purchased the Boyle County Fairgrounds land; Boyle County Schools is building its new middle school; a connector road will be constructed between the new school and the bypass; there are ideas on the horizon for expanding Millennium Park; and there’s an ever-present possibility of new and changing business developments along the bypass.

It’s smart to protect the memorial now, while it’s easy and there’s no one with different designs on the land. If anyone comes along in the future with different ideas, it’ll be too bad — they’ll just have to find somewhere else for their ideas to land.

The veterans wall is a significant symbol of community effort. It was unveiled almost 11 years ago, on Independence Day weekend in 2008. Kentucky Adjutant General Edward Tonini, the highest ranking officer in the Kentucky National Guard, attended the unveiling ceremony and expressed amazement at Boyle County’s “magnificent community.”

“I can’t begin to tell you what an honor it is to be here today. This community just absolutely blows me away, as does the amount of support you provide your veterans,” Tonini said at the time.

In the time since the wall went up, the community has continued to improve the memorial. Names are added regularly of Boyle County residents who have served in the military — the ranks have grown by 457%, to 1,554 names from the original 340.

The original wall filled up and a second one had to be added in 2013. A fence around the site was installed in 2015. All of the work had strong community support — both financial and otherwise.

By creating a new restricted deed for the memorial, the Boyle County Fiscal Court is not just protecting a monument honoring local veterans; it is protecting the years of hard work and dedication the community has given to make the monument what it is today.