Signs recognizing service members may adorn Ogden
OGDEN — The St. Joseph-Ogden Service Members Organization wants to expand to Ogden.
St. Joseph resident Jim Wasson is spearheading the effort to recognize local citizens serving in the military by putting up signs with their names on them.
And at last week's Ogden Village Board meeting, he proposed adding a second community.
"We currently have four signs for service members from Ogden," Wasson said. "We just want to get the OK to put them up."
Wasson started a donation drive earlier this summer to purchase signs that are placed on light poles. The signs feature an American flag, yellow ribbon, the soldier's name and his or her branch of service.
Trustee Sonja Vickers said the signs will be placed along Market Street in Ogden. Vickers said she had also spoken to Prairieview-Ogden school officials to see if the signs could be placed on a fence along Illinois 49. She said the school was going to discuss it with its board later this month.
"The purpose of putting them on the main roads is so people can see them and remember that there are people serving our country from this town," Wasson said.
Currently 44 signs have been installed in St. Joseph. Wasson is now looking to collect names of Ogden residents. The signs will stay up until the service member comes home and then will be presented to the service member.
"Anyone who has lost their life, their sign will stay up," Wasson said. "Those signs will be changed to say in memory of."
Wasson's goal is to be able to provide the signs for free of charge to honor the soldiers who are serving in the military.
He is holding fundraisers, is asking local businesses for donations and has set up an account at the Gifford State Bank for people to donate.
He is also allowing people to donate through PayPal or mail donations. Information on how to donate can be found on the SJO Service Member Facebook page.
Ogden residents can submit names of service members by email at: sjoservicemembers@comcast.net. Include the soldier's name and branch of service.
Donations can be mailed to: SJO Service Member, P.O. Box 624, St. Joseph, IL 61873.
Comments
News-Gazette.com embraces discussion of both community and world issues. We welcome you to contribute your ideas, opinions and comments, but we ask that you avoid personal attacks, vulgarity and hate speech. we reserve the right to remove any comment at its discretion, and we will block repeat offenders' accounts. To post comments, you must first be a registered user, and your username will appear with any comment you post. Happy posting.