COLUMBIANA CO. Work to begin on memorial

A steady stream of contributions is a good sign.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Work is to begin this week on a nearly $20,000 monument to go in front of the Columbiana County courthouse, though only about a third of the money for it has been raised.
County commissioners are overseeing the fund raising for the memorial, which will honor Medal of Honor recipients and mark the state, county and Lisbon bicentennials, which all fall this year.
No county money will be used for the project.
Fund-raising
To pay for the granite memorial, commissioners are seeking donations and selling bricks for $50 each.
The bricks will be inscribed according to the buyer's wishes and included as part of a pad to be placed in front of the monument.
So far, about 40 of the 400 bricks commissioners wanted to sell have been ordered, Commissioner Jim Hoppel said. The county also has received some donations.
Richardson Monument of Lisbon is building the monument and has agreed to do the work even if all its cost isn't in hand, Hoppel said.
He added that he's confident enough money for the memorial will be raised.
"We're getting orders every day," Hoppel said. The concrete base for the memorial is expected to be poured next week.
Dedication ceremony
Work must be substantially complete by July 4, which is when a dedication ceremony is planned.
A key part of the memorial, which will be outside the courthouse's main entrance, is a plaque bearing the names of Medal of Honor recipients who either were from the county or are buried here.
Later this summer or early fall, a second ceremony will be held to install a bell on the memorial.
The bell, being paid for as part of a state bicentennial program, will be cast this summer during the county fair.
Bells are being cast for each of Ohio's 88 counties.