District to honor veterans with memorial

Former Riverside High School students who served in the military will be honored in a special way.

The district is raising funds to construct a Riverside Veterans Memorial that will be displayed at Riverside Stadium.

The memorial will include a 20-foot brick wall with a digital display, a 35-foot flagpole for the American flag and five, 30-foot flagpoles for the United States military flags, said Riverside Campus Assistant Principal Rich Frimel.

This idea stemmed from Frimel and Riverside Campus Principal Peter Hliatzos.

“The principal and I were talking and we know that some surrounding communities have done some similar things and we thought this would be a good way to honor our veterans,” Frimel said.

A committee was formed to assist in the planning.

In addition to Frimel and Hliatzos, teachers Jenny Cavel, Jeff Eckles, Becky Bartholomew: Literacy Coordinator Rich Schmidt and Digital Imaging Owner Dean Bader serve on that committee.

Throughout the past year, the district collaborated with

local veterans’ organizations to compile a list of individuals who have attended Riverside High School and went on to serve in the military, according to the news release.

The names of those men and women will be displayed on the Riverside Veterans Memorial.

Additionally, the district has collected donations from local businesses and organizations throughout the past few months to complete the project.

Most recently, the Painesville Elks Lodge 549 donated $1,000 to the Riverside Veterans Memorial. The VFW Post 2595 Painesville, American Legion Post 112 Madison, The Riverside Alumni Association, Cindy Gagan, RLEA, Reed Activewear in Painesville and Gunny’s Hall in Mentor has also contributed to this project, the release also said.

Fundraising is ongoing and those interested in making a donation to the Riverside Veterans Memorial can contact Frimel at rich.frimel@riversideschools.net.

The committee is also selling T-shirts and all proceeds will go towards the memorial. T-shirts will be available during many school events and can be purchased by calling 440352-3341 or emailing Bartholomew at becky.bartholomew@riversideschools.net.

The Riverside Veterans Memorial is expected to be completed by August 2019 before the first football game next school year, Frimel said.

SUBMITTED A conceptual sketch of the memorial.