City to recognize fallen military members on Sunday
Sep. 22—On Sunday, the walk in front of the City Building, 601 E. Broadway, will be twinkling with reminders of fallen military members.
It's Logansport's first time participating in the Gold Star Luminary Initiative, which began in 2007 and is observed on Gold Star Day, the last Sunday in September.
White bags filled with sand and a candle-style tea light will line the walkways, and each will have a gold star and a space to write either a fallen person's name, a prayer or a saying for the remembrance, said organizer Petrina Hopkins.
At dusk, taps will play, and those participating will be invited to pray over the fallen.
Hopkins began organizing the event about a month and a half ago and on Wednesday received official permission to hold it from the Logansport Board of Works and Safety.
She first found out about the initiative in support groups for mothers of those in the U.S. Marines.
"A lot of people never heard of it," Hopkins said.
Hopkins son, Wesley Hopkins, recently finished the final test of recruit training, known as The Crucible, and will go through graduation Oct. 1.
Although the luminary bags are free for those remembering a fallen warrior, there'll be a donation container to help make it an annual event.
"I want to do this every year," she said.
She also hopes to get more people involved because she'll have more time to plan for next year.
Board of Works Member Lisa Terry said that veterans groups and churches would likely want to get involved.
This year her husband's tattoo parlor, Fatt Matt's Tats, sponsored the event. Hopkins said that there's a group of Marine Moms trying to make the event a national holiday.
According to the group's website, although there was a presidential proclamation in 1936 to honor Gold Star mothers who'd lost a child in military action, "there was no nationwide call for action to show support and remembrance of the sons and daughters of Gold Star Mothers."
For more about the national Gold Stare Luminary Initiative movement, go to http://luminaryinitiative.com.
Also at Wednesday's Board of Works meeting, the board members approved the route for the Logansport High School homecoming parade Thursday.
The parade will start at 5:45 p.m. and last until 6:30, using Usher Street, Lafayette Drive and George Street from the high school to the administration building.
Mayor Chris Martin also made an observation about some of the residential properties that have been coming before the Board for cleanup, and sometimes for fines.
There's a spate of problems with rentals owned by people out of the city and out of the state "not caring what goes on in our community," he said.
The board took action on nine residential properties at the meeting, assessing fines to some and approving cleanups by city workers for others.
The cleanups are to be billed to the property owners.
One of the properties was also released from the list because the resident cleaned it up to city officials' satisfaction.
The board regularly addresses a list of houses that need work or cleaning at every weekly meeting.
Reach James D. Wolf Jr. at james.wolf@pharostribune.com or 574-732-5117
Twitter @JamesDWolfJr
