Veterans petition Ohio city council for park
OGDEN -- A group of Top of Utah residents wants Ogden to recognize military veterans by establishing a public park.
About 10 veterans attended Ogden's city council meeting Tuesday. They were on the agenda to formally request that the city establish a Veterans Memorial Park.
The initiative is being spearheaded by Dennis Howland, commander of Ogden Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1481.
The veterans backing the request represent several posts, and several other community members are behind the idea.
"The request is not coming from the VFW only," Howland said.
"We are simply leading the way for many people in the Ogden area. I am acting at the encouragement of many."
The group's preference is to have a current city-owned park renamed Veterans Memorial Park.
"We've got things like the 4th Street Park or the 9th Street Park in Ogden," he said. "We have parks without real names. Let us take a look at renaming one of those."
Howland said he's also working with several community groups to raise money for a memorial that would be placed at the selected park.
At one time, the city had plans to build a veterans monument at the Ogden City Cemetery, but that idea has yet to get off the ground.
"We'd be willing to at least revisit that; I'm not sure about that idea," Howland said.
"I feel like we should try to provide a place parents and grandparents can take young people to talk about their veteran relatives or to talk about the sacrifices of military service. It really would depend on the layout and surrounding conditions."
Mayor Mike Caldwell and City Council Executive Director Bill Cook both said the request to rename a park will be considered.
Also at the council meeting, Howland discussed Ogden's seventh annual Veterans Day Parade, which will begin at 11:11 a.m. Nov. 10.
The parade will run a different route this year, beginning at 31st Street and heading north along Washington Boulevard, then west down 23rd Street to Lindquist Field, where a patriotic rally will be held.
The parade will include a flyover by Hill Air Force Base F-16s, and the rally will feature several speakers, including Caldwell and Col. Sarah Zabel, commander of Hill's 75th Air Base Wing.
