Commission upset with Vet Memorial stone work

An angered and frustrated Barton County Commission Tuesday morning took steps to rectify what commissioners see as poor engraving on the fourth stone at the Golden Belt Veterans Memorial, viewed by them as one of the county’s crown jewels.

During a study session following their agenda meeting, commissioners gave the nod to pursuing the company responsible for the work to make things right. If it doesn’t, other action will be taken.

“As you know, back in last November (on Veterans Day) we had our fourth stone dedicated,” said County Works Director Darren Williams, whose department tends to the two county-owned memorial parks north of Great Bend. “With some of the lettering, they didn’t engrave deep enough. It wasn’t a very good product. We believe that they should be better.”

This was the last of the four stones bearing the names of veterans with ties to Barton County that make up the memorial along with a center obelisk featuring military branch insignias. The first stone was set in 2015, and all were created by Kansas Granite, the Hays company that was the subject of the commission’s ire Tuesday.

Now, there are about 30 lines on the forth tablet that are wearing thin and can hardly be read, said Great Bend artist Melanie Ryan. Ryan has worked with the county to repaint the etched names on some of the stones, but said there is nothing she can do with the fading lines.

All the stones are showing some wear-and-tear, some of which may be caused by weather and environmental issues, Ryan said. Most of these she can repaint to last decades.

However, she can’t fix the shallow carvings. There are some names where there was an apparent attempt to re-etch the words that only made things worse (the center portion of a letter A may be missing, as an example).

This problem is something the county has taken up with Kansas Granite, said County Counselor Patrick Hoffman. “We did chase after the installer.”

The county has called, emailed and sent a certified letter, but have gotten nothing but excuses as to what caused the issue and why they haven’t fixed it.

“So, it sounds to me like what we need to do is send the manufacturer some sort of letter that says you have the X amount of days or months, then we are going to hire someone else to resolve it and then we’re going send you the bill. If you don’t pay the bill, we’re going to sue you,” commission Chairman Shawn Hutchinson, District 3, said.

In the meantime, it was agreed that Ryan should proceed with repainting the lines in the first three stones and the center obelisk at a cost of $13,800 (labor, paint and supplies). But she will not touch stone four until things get settled with the company.

There was also talk of billing these expenses to Kansas Granite as well.

“This is too important to us,” said District 2 Commissioner Barb Esfeld of the memorial. “This was a proud moment.”

Families paid for the engravings. Some return to make rubbings, but could do that with the worn-out lines, Ryan said.

Background

The memorial at Golden Belt Memorial Park honors veterans with Barton County ties who have served in all conflicts and in all branches of the military. Qualifications to be included are proof that the veteran was at least at one time a Barton County resident and received an honorable discharge from the military. The veteran can be living or deceased, and active-duty service members were also eligible. The first two stones flank a center obelisk. In addition to the stones, there are flags representing the branches of service: Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy and Merchant Marines. It was designed by local sculptor Chet Cale.

Veterans or their family members were charged $45 per a 21-character line.

The third stone is staggered behind stone one. Number four will be behind number two.

The third stone was set in November 2018 and was dedicated on Veterans Day that year. The second stone was dedicated on Veterans Day in 2016, and the first stone on Veterans Day the year before. But, the project dates back to 2011 when the idea of a memorial was first raised and spearheaded by late Commissioner Kenny Schremmer.

One side of stone four was purchased by the Hoisington VFW when it closed and is filled with Hoisington-area veterans. The other side was open to the general public.