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Unveiling Of Engraved WPHS Monument Set For Nov. 12

photo by: Joselyn King

The “Eagle” statue outside Wheeling Park High School soon will have inscribed on it the names of military veterans graduating from the school since it opened in 1976.

WHEELING – Ohio County Schools will unveil the newly engraved military monument at Wheeling Park High School the day after Veterans Day.

The school’s “Eagle Statue” sits outside the front entrance to WPHS. A total of 181 names have been engraved on its sides, honoring alumni who served in the military.

Events are set for 11 a.m. until noon in front of the high school on Nov. 12.

Superintendent Kim Miller will kick things off, followed by remarks from former Ohio County Board of Education member Erik Schramm. U.S. Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke – himself a veteran of the U.S. Air Force – will speak, as will board of education president David Croft and Staff Sgt. Andrea Gump, a recruiter with the U.S. Army.

Since WPHS first graduating class in 1977, there have been two alumni sacrificing their lives while serving in the military – Sgt. Matthew Hunter and Capt. David VanCamp.

Weld helped the school district obtain a $17,500 state Local Development Assistance (LEDA) Grant that was needed to begin the project, she explained.

The $17,500 in LEDA money was added to the $8,000 initially donated by Ohio County Schools, as well as other donations raised from businesses in the community such as Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal, according to Karin Butyn, public relations and alumni director for Ohio County Schools

In addition, the families of some of the veterans contributed $100 to the project. This was because the cost to have each veteran’s name engraved on the monument is $100, she explained.

An opportunity for more names added to the monument will happen each year going forward as some veterans get overlooked, and new WPHS graduates enter the military. The last 10 names were added in the last days prior to engraving.

There is room for 400 names on the monument as it presently stands. Plans have already been worked out with Boswell Monuments to extend the monument outward when needed to accommodate more names in the future, according to Butyn.

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