By Michael Ryan
JEWETT - Some bigwigs are invited, but the emphasis will properly be on those people whose names are honorably inscribed on it, when formal dedication of the new Veterans Monument in Jewett takes place.
Town residents and government officials from the local, county and State levels are being welcomed to attend the ceremony, slated for Saturday, May 17, at 10 a.m., along Route 23C, across from the town hall.
An unofficial unveiling took place, last Veterans Day, on a warmly overcast morning. Similarly friendly weather is currently the wish.
“We wanted everyone in the community to know the memorial is here,” town supervisor Greg Kroyer said of the November, 2024, gathering.
“It’s beautiful,” said town justice Stephen Canfield, one of the attendees. Judge Canfield initially suggested the veterans tribute be created, a concept supported by former town historian Susan Neugebauer.
The earlier ceremony and upcoming uncovering will culminate a successful and surprisingly swift fundraising effort that paved the way for securing the stoney monument and establishing a mini-park at the site.
“This respectful gesture is done on behalf of everyone in Jewett,” said town councilman John Giordano, who carried through on the idea spawned by Canfield and Neugebauer, spearheading fundraising efforts.
The new monument rests next to the town’s 9/11 Memorial. A new flag pole has been erected with lighting. It is hoped a crosswalk will be added in the future as well as prettifying landscaping.
Town officials agreed to erect the monument early in 2024, although at that time, no one knew where the money would come from to get it done.
Collecting what turned out to be 328 names, researching as far back as the Revolutionary War, a price tag of $20,000 was given by Henderson Monuments, based in Catskill.
Town officials had further agreed no local taxpayer dollars should be spent, relying on donations, anticipating the required fundraising would take a year or longer until serendipity sweetly struck.
Within a few short month, while working with VFW Post #1545 in Windham to forward the cause, two grants totaling $35,000 arrived, as if fated, from the Greene County Legislature.
The county funding came through American Rescue Plan Act grant dollars, earmarked especially for veterans and youth projects.
As the scheduled Armed Forces Day dedication nears, Jewett town supervisor Greg Kroyer reports there is work yet to be done.
It came as undesired, albeit not exactly surprising news, that a handful of names not engraved on the stone have been discovered.
“We feel bad but we did everything we could,” Kroyer said, getting the word out prior to giving Henderson Monuments the go-ahead.
“The good part is the monument will be there forever,” Kroyer said, noting the missing names, connected to World War !!, can and will be added.
In other matters:
—Supervisor Kroyer reported the long-awaited construction of a new septic system at the municipal building commenced the day after Easter and could be concluded by the end of this week.
The facility includes town offices, the highway department and the meeting place for the Meals on Wheels program, providing warm food for elderly and homebound residents across the mountaintop.
It was learned, during routine pumping of the system, that replacement was necessary. It had never backed up but it was definitely old,” Kroyer says.
Not particularly enamored with the notion of paying for the improvement, even though there was no option, the town sought financial assistance.
Town taxpayers are again being spared any expense, receiving help from the Catskill Watershed Corporation, administrators of funding provided through the Department of Environmental Protection.
“The Catskill Watershed Corporation will pay for the whole thing,” Kroyer said, noting the savings could be between $70,000 and six figures.
“They have a replacement program [for entities and individuals within the watershed]. We decided it would be crazy not to go for it and we got it,” Kroyer said, expressing economic ebullience.
The current septic tank and leach field are located behind the three-building municipal complex, not far from the Townhouse Brook.
Kroyer noted the contractor, Maggio & Sons, based in Cairo, will time the job so as to not interfere with the Meals on Wheels program.
“We won’t have to shut down the senior center. They will disconnect the old system after the dishes are done so there is no disruption,” Kroyer said. “We are very appreciative of them and the CWC.
Below ground work will be completed by week’s end, weather permitting of course, with site restoration subsequently unfolding.
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