Wed, Jan 07 2009
|
|
Published September 03, 2008 09:38 pm - STELLA, Mo. — Construction of the new Veterans Memorial Park — one of several recent redevelopment efforts in the town of Stella — is about 80 percent complete. Stella veterans park nears completion By Derek Spellman
dspellman@joplinglobe.com STELLA, Mo. — Construction of the new Veterans Memorial Park — one of several recent redevelopment efforts in the town of Stella — is about 80 percent complete. “I didn’t realize it would go together as fast as it did,” said Chuck Dalbom, former principal of Triway Elementary School in Stella and the chairman of the Stella Veterans Memorial Committee, on a drizzly Wednesday morning. The park honors any member of the service, from any branch, from any time period. Several months ago, Dalbom announced plans to build the memorial on a lot adjacent to the Stella Senior Center. The plans called for a park lot measuring 165 feet by 82 feet, and featuring brick walkways, landscaping, a small bridge, a flag and a five-pointed star. The bricks were to be engraved with veterans’ names. Much of the work has been completed, Dalbom said. There are still bricks to be laid on stretches of the walkways, and some dirt work and landscaping remains, but project supporters are still planning for the park to be ready in time for the town’s annual Stellabration on Nov. 1. “Things are moving,” Dalbom said of the work. The aim of the park is to create a place of quiet, sober reflection on the service rendered by veterans. Dalbom also is playing a central role in another development measure for Stella. Dalbom and his wife, Doris, are the co-owners of the former Lentz-Carter Mercantile Store. The store was added to the National Register of Historic Places earlier this year. The Dalboms plan to restore the building and convert it into a soup-and-sandwich restaurant. The new park space and a new store were among the features proposed in a broader revitalization plan hatched for Stella last year by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA began helping residents draw up such a plan after the agency discovered asbestos on the grounds of the former Cardwell Memorial Hospital, which is now the site of the veterans memorial. The agency removed the old hospital in 2006 and created a revitalization plan for the community because any redevelopment of the Cardwell site likely would need to be accompanied by development in the rest of the town, according to the EPA. The Stella effort was a pilot program designed to showcase how development can be accompanied and even enhanced by environmental friendliness. The EPA helped produce the plan and connects residents with resources that can help the vision be realized. The final plan presented more than a year ago offered a vision that included park space; walking or equestrian trails; vegetative buffers between any agricultural areas and streams; and a coffee shop, soda fountain or cafe to provide a location where people could meet. In addition to the Veterans Memorial Park, townspeople over the summer created a city park on a couple of acres of land south of a bridge that spans Indian Creek. Bob Hart, a Stella resident and member of the Newton County Economic Development Commission, said people have planted more than 100 trees on the park site, and have installed some playground equipment and picnic tables. 
•
Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.
More from the Home section
Miami officials, workers praise four-day workweek State budget shortfall forces hard choices for education, others |
Print this story
E-mail this story
Post to del.icio.us
Discuss this story
Joplin High among 4 in area cited in magazine’s ranking w/ America's top schools and school comparisons
 |
 |
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
The Joplin Globe Publishing Company 117 East Fourth Street, Joplin, MO 64801 Using our site is your agreement to the terms and conditions. News: news@joplinglobe.com • (417)623-3480 Advertise with the Joplin Globe Copyright © 2006 The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO All rights reserved. |
Popular Business directory links - Joplin Apartments | Joplin Attorneys | Joplin Auto Dealers | Joplin Auto Parts | Joplin Auto Repair | Joplin Beauty Salons | Joplin Car Rental | Joplin Dentists | Joplin Doctors | Joplin Flowers | Joplin Hotels | Joplin Insurance | Joplin Loans | Joplin Mortgages | Joplin Movers | Joplin Pizza | Joplin Realtors | Joplin Restaurants | Joplin Storage | Joplin Tax Preparation | Joplin Travel | Joplin Featured | More...
|
|
Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. • CNHI Classified Advertising Network • CNHI News Service |
