Veterans Memorial Planned for McKinney Park
A local committee chaired by Police Chief Greg Ryan presented plans to City Council for a Woodruff Veterans Memorial in McKinney Park. The design has a yardarm flagpole, a memorial wall and an oculus honoring the service branches. It is estimated at just over $400,000, raised privately.
The Woodruff Times reported on September 23, 2024 that the Woodruff Veterans Memorial committee shared its plans and renderings with City Council at the August 27 meeting.
Police Chief Greg Ryan chairs the committee, and a Woodruff native who serves as a first sergeant in the S.C. Army National Guard is vice chair. The city has agreed to provide the landscaped area west of the playground on the north end of McKinney Park. The design has three main parts: a flagpole shaped like a Navy yardarm, a central monument with a memorial wall, and an oculus recognizing the branches of service and honoring those who died defending the country. A brick floor will hold engraved bricks that veterans and their families can order.
The committee estimated construction at just over $400,000 and is raising the money itself, with the hope of building within a couple of years. It asked the city to provide the site permanently, include it in park maintenance, cover the utilities for a few lights, and allow events such as Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Mayor Kenneth Gist said he supports the project.
In other business, Council approved first readings to rezone about 14 acres on Pool Street Extension to R-3 multi-family and to put the city's existing debris-pickup procedures into ordinance. The city manager said SCDOT would repave Main Street in September 2024.
A note from us: this is the outlet's account, not official minutes, and the project timeline may have changed since. Read the original at The Woodruff Times.