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Three-acre park will honor veterans
DEERFIELD TWP. - This Warren County suburb, burgeoning with new residents and commercial development, is gaining a memorial veterans park that organizers say will be the largest of its kind in the region. Deerfield Honors Veterans Park is planned for 3 acres on the northwest corner of Snider and Irwin-Simpson roads. Township officials donated the parcel, which is part of 50-acre Cottell Park, and $5,000 toward park construction. A main feature of the park - a 12-foot high, $95,000 bronze statue of a U.S. armed serviceman - will be unveiled and blessed Friday at Long Cove, this year's site for Homearama in Deerfield Township. Ground was broken for the park in August 2003 but, until enough money is raised to begin construction, the statue will be displayed periodically at various sites in the township. The idea for the park came from area veterans who formed the nonprofit group Deerfield Honors Veterans Inc. a few years ago to raise money for the park and oversee its construction. "There really isn't a place we have for ceremonies, whether it's Veterans or Memorial Day, where the public can go and participate in events or reflect on the current situation in the military," Chapman said. So far, fund-raising efforts have fallen short of what's needed and that's delaying park construction, said Bruce Chapman, the group's president and a Vietnam veteran. About $300,000 is needed before construction can begin, Chapman said. Construction of all phases of the park is expected to reach nearly $600,000. "This will be a destination site," he said of the expansive park. "People will be coming from all over to visit, to meditate and to celebrate." About $125,000 has been raised from more than 20 corporate and individual sponsors such as Anthem, Fifth Third Bank, Robert C. Rhein Interests and former Cincinnati Bengal Anthony Munoz. Natorp's is donating all landscaping for the park. But most of that money was used to pay for the statute, built by the Verdin Co. of Cincinnati. At Deerfield's park, in addition to the statue, there will be a gateway arch with a 250-pound bell and carillon, a 50-foot high flagpole with the American flag and a reflective pond with a tetrahedron. Tying it all together will be a walking path of fund-raiser commemorative bricks that start at $35. Township leaders remain optimistic the park eventually will emerge, saying Cottell Park provides the perfect backdrop for a veterans memorial. Soccer and baseball fields, the Snyder House (which is rented for receptions, parties and other events) and walking paths will provide a natural flow of people, particularly schoolchildren, Trustee President Randy Kuvin said. E-mail jedwards@enquirer.com.
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