AUSTINTOWN Group raises money for memorial

AUSTINTOWN -- The Austintown Beautification Committee, 9/11 Memorial, a nonprofit group, is raising funds to complete the memorial at the former Austintown Trustees Park on Raccoon Road.
Trustees changed the name of the park last month to 9/11 Memorial Park.
The committee estimates the memorial will cost $200,000. It will include a gazebo; two 7-foot-tall twin towers with a black granite base with the inscription, "9-11 we will never forget -- God bless America"; two stones, one for police and one for firefighters, that will pay homage to the Pentagon and Flight 93 on the reverse sides; artifacts from the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the Flight 93 crash site; monuments with the names of all the dead; an eternal flame; three flag poles; and paver brick walkways.
Trees, flower gardens and shrubs in raised beds also will complement the site.
The committee said it has raised $70,000. It is selling sponsorship of features planned for the memorial.
Paver bricks are $40 each, with three lines, 15 letters a line allowed. Lamp posts are $1,500 each. Park benches can be engraved for $1,000 each. The two stones for the firefighters and police, Pentagon and Flight 93 are $3,950 apiece. The monuments with victim names -- black granite panels with laser etchings -- are $10,000 each.
All items will be engraved with an organization or family name or will have a personalized plate attached.
The committee says it hopes to dedicate the memorial in fall 2006.
For more information call Pat Connolly at (330) 718-2345 or (330) 799-0565, or Paul Cubellis at (330) 792-1961.