Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Talk of a new monument on the courthouse circle was back on the Jefferson County Commission’s agenda last week. Unlike the last time that the issue arose, however, this time around the reception was more positive and everyone was onboard.
Commissioner Eugene Hall proposed the idea. He suggested the placement of a statute on the south side of the courthouse circle to honor war Veterans. As part of his proposal, Hall cited casualty statistics from previous conflicts, including World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq.
Hall said he thought it was a fitting gesture to install an obelisk or monument on the courthouse circle to honor soldiers, as other communities often did.
The other board members’ reception of the idea was positive, with Commissioner Stephen Walker suggesting that Brad Cooley Jr. might be just the person to do the monument.
Not only was Cooley a recognized artist who most recently had erected a bronze sculpture of the rattler mascot on the FAMU campus, Walker said, but Cooley also lives in Lamont.
Veterans Affairs Officer Alvin Swilley likewise welcomed the idea. A decorated U.S. Army soldier who served two tours in Iraq, Swilley told the commissioners that any time soldiers were discussed, the topic had his full attention.
“It’s important to recognize soldiers,” Swilley said, giving a brief account of soldiers’ sacrifices and the traumatic aftereffects of war that they often suffered, with many committing suicide as a consequence.
He offered to do whatever he could to help bring about the realization of the monument.
Commissioner J. T. Surles declared himself being “all onboard” with the proposal, as were others of the commissioners. And County Coordinator Parrish Barwick, as he has done on past occasions, stepped forward with the offer of a donation.
“If the board approves it, I’ll be glad to start the fundraiser,” Barwick said, adding that he would contribute the first $3,000 toward the effort in honor of his forebears who had served in the military.
He cited in particular his two grandfathers and a slightly younger uncle who had been almost like a father figure to him and who was killed in a traffic accident on the way back to his base.
“Veterans bring problems home from wars and have to live with them their whole lives,” Barwick said.
Clerk of Court Kirk Reams suggested the possibility of a statute featuring a group of soldiers standing together, each representing a different era or war. It was one of several ideas tossed out.
In the end, the commission appointed a committee to develop the idea further and return with a plan. That committee consists of Hall, Reams, Barwick and Swilley.
The last time the commission discussed monuments on the courthouse circle was several months back, when a group of Black citizens requested the removal of the Confederate obelisk on the north side of the county courthouse. That discussion was long, contentious and terminated with a 3-2 vote to keep the obelisk in place.
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