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Vietnam War memorial sculptor selected
A new monument, “Brothers in Arms,” commemorating the service of American and South Vietnamese soldiers in the Vietnam War, is to be installed at Military Park by July 4. The city council agreed to pay up to $145,000 to Oregon sculptor Thomas Jay Warren to produce the memorial. The monument depicts an American soldier and South Vietnamese soldier standing back-to-back. The Vietnamese American Community of Oklahoma City and Metropolitan Areas is donating $210,000 for the monument and a flag plaza.
Worth noting: The monument will be installed near the confluence of N Classen Boulevard, N Military Avenue and NW 24 Street as part of Military Park renovations.
City billed for canceled election
Oklahoma City was billed $3,376.93 for expenses incurred before cancellation of the Jan. 10 election to decide a firefighters’ contract. The city council voted in August to let voters choose between the “last-best offers” of the city and firefighters’ union. The council reversed course in December after a settlement was reached. Costs were for printing ballots and for postage.
By the numbers
• $42.60: Annual revenue derived from leasing two acres of land at Will Rogers World Airport to a beekeeper, Ally Resource Group, for honey production.
Quiet zone nears completion
The city council authorized submission of the final paperwork to create the downtown railroad “quiet zone.” The city has completed installation of medians and other safety upgrades at six downtown railroad crossings, and closed five others. Within the quiet zone, trains will no longer blow their horns as A rendering of the “Brothers in Arms” Vietnam War memorial by sculptor Thomas Jay Warren. Warren says the figures of an American and South Vietnamese soldier “quite literally embody the soldier’s most solemn pledge: ‘I’ve got your back, Brother.’” The monument will be installed this summer at Military Park in near-northwest Oklahoma City. [IMAGE PROVIDED] they approach crossings. The quiet zone has been promoted as vital to continued economic development downtown.
Worth noting: Public Works Director Eric Wenger said the city expects to receive confirmation from the Federal Railroad Administration in the next two to three weeks that the quiet zone — technically a “sealed safety railroad corridor” — has been established.
Elsewhere: Norman’s railroad quiet zone is expected to become final about the same time.
They said it
“The way that they come together and the way they make their decisions, there’s diversity and there’s different views and there’s different ideas and that’s great, but staying focused on what’s best for the city and the greater good always prevails.”
— Civic leader and Thunder chairman Clay Bennett, commenting on the Oklahoma City Council at the dedication of the Bennett Event Center at State Fair Park last week.
Present/absent
Mayor Mick Cornett and seven of the eight city council members attended last week’s meeting. Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid was away on vacation.
Looking ahead
The city council meets at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 17 at City Hall, 200 N Walker Ave.
County board selects chairman
Brian Maughan will chair the Oklahoma County commission for 2017. The chairman presides over meetings of the three-member board and represents Oklahoma County on a number of boards and commissions. “I intend to continue the tradition we have established here in Oklahoma County of conducting the taxpayers’ business openly and honestly,” he said.
Worth noting: Maughan drew no opposition and was elected to a third term as District 2 commissioner in 2016.