Plans for Perry Area Hometown Heroes banner program moving forward
Aug. 11—Starting in 2023, the Perry area will display banners with the faces and names of military veterans on light poles for a portion of every year.
The program, called Perry Area Hometown Heroes, will honor armed-forces veterans who live or have resided in Perry Village, North Perry Village or Perry Township. A committee with representatives of each community's government has been formed to launch and administer the program.
Applications for purchasing banners are expected to be available by the end of August.
Perry area veterans who have served in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, National Guard or Coast Guard are eligible for the program.
Each banner, with dimensions of 24 inches by 54 inches, will feature the veteran's picture; name and rank; branch of service; and name of the sponsor. Individuals, families or organizations can sponsor a banner.
These banners will be attached to light poles from Memorial Day through Veterans Day, in these sections of the Perry area:
—Center Street from Middle Ridge Road in Perry Township to Main Street in Perry Village.
—Main Street from Harper Street in Perry Village to where it becomes Narrows Road in Perry Township; and then Narrows to Lane Road in the township.
—Antioch Road from North Ridge Road — also known as Route 20 — to Lockwood Road in North Perry Village.
—Lockwood Road, starting at its intersection with Antioch, and heading east to Townline Road in North Perry.
—Townline Road from North Ridge Road to Townline Park in North Perry.
It's anticipated that the banners will stay in good, useable condition for three years.
The cost of a banner, which covers its installation and removal for the first year, is $215. If a sponsor wishes to continue exhibiting the banner in 2024 and 2025, a $42 installation/removal fee will be charged for each year.
All banners will be kept in storage after Veterans Day and leading up to the next Memorial Day holiday.
More information about payments for the banners, and photos that must be provided by sponsors, will be listed in the applications.
North Perry Village Council, during its Aug. 4 meeting, heard a presentation about the banners from Larry Reichard, the community's Perry Area Hometown Heroes Committee representative.
Reichard asked council if it would allow village Service Director Charlie Laing to install and remove the banners each year.
"I talked to Charlie to see if $42 (per banner) will cover the cost of his time to do that, and it will," Reichard said.
A resolution is being drawn up that will provide council's formal approval for Laing to put up and take down the Hometown Heroes banners in the village each year. It's expected that council will vote on that resolution at an Aug. 18 special meeting, which follows a work session.
Other members of the Perry Area Hometown Heroes Committee are Perry Township Administrator Karen Sundy and Perry Village Councilman Mike Glover.
