43
I-680 to be dedicated to veterans
The highway would be added to other local Korean War memorials.
YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County commissioners have unanimously endorsed proposed legislation that would dedicate all of Interstate 680 as the Korean War Veterans’ Memorial Highway.
The request was made on behalf of the Mahoning Valley Korean War Veterans’ Association Chapter 137 Tell America Program, and the legislation is being sponsored by state Sen. John Boccieri of New Middletown, D-33rd.
More than 10,000 Valley residents served in the military during the Korean War era from 1950-53, said Bob Bakalik of Youngstown, a chapter trustee. The road would still be known as I-680, but it would feature signs in honor of Korean War veterans, he said.
“We’re dying off due to age, and I think it’s about time that these people be recognized,” he said. “This is something to remember the veterans by” as motorists enter the Youngstown area, he added.
This tribute would be in addition to at least two others in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys.
Pennsylvania Route 318 in Shenango Township, Mercer County, Pa., just east of Hubbard, is already designated as the Korean War Veterans’ Memorial Highway, noted John Pariza of Austintown, another chapter trustee.
Some 122 names of Mahoning Valley residents killed or missing in the Korean War are on a Korean War Memorial in Austintown’s Wickliffe Circle, which was dedicated July 27, 2003, Bakalik said.
On June 29, a plaque will be unveiled at the Austintown memorial in memory of John D. Kelly, a Youngstown-born Marine killed in combat in the Korean War and a Medal of Honor recipient. The only other Ohioan to receive the Medal of Honor for Korean War service is Ronald E. Rosser, who resides in the Columbus area and will be invited to attend the ceremony here, Bakalik said.
In other action Thursday, the commissioners authorized the county’s Convention and Visitors Bureau to make a one-time $8,000 development grant from its hotel bed tax revenues for the initial development of a public independent film theater program at the Butler Institute of American Art.
The program, developed by the nonprofit Youngstown Film Inc., offers public screenings of art and foreign films at 7 p.m. Wednesdays at the Butler North for a $5 admission charge. Atty. Michelle McBride is board president of the film organization.
Located on Wick Avenue, Butler North is a former church adjacent to the art museum.
The screenings are preceded by explanations of the films from the directors and followed by a public discussion, said Phil Moore, county CVB director.
“This is to allow them a short introductory period to cover their costs while they build awareness and get their marketing going,” Moore said of the grant. The grant is paying for marketing, equipment, film licensing fees, and travel expenses to bring the directors here, he said.
CVB expects the film organization will be financially self-sustaining in about eight weeks, Moore added.
milliken@vindy.com