A newly formed committee hopes to move the war cenotaph from obscurity to the public eye when the Badlands Community Facility opens in August.
“It’s an obtuse situation, the only time it’s seen is on Remembrance Day,” Baird told inSide Drumheller. “It’s got to be moved, and we’ve been granted a prominent space in front of the facility.”
Their application arrived to Veterans Affairs Canada in Charlottetown this week, with hopes that up to $25,000 of the estimated $50,000 project’s funds will be granted.
Moving the cenotaph will be a “delicate” operation to not damage it – the weight and structural design of the monument is not known at this time. It will be cleaned and refurbished as well. A rededication is planned once it has been re-installed.
The remainder of the $50,000 will be solicited from patriotic residents and local corporate entities.
The Town of Drumheller’s community services director Paul Salvatore sits on the committee.
“It’s going to be prominent, so we can be proud of the cenotaph and reflect on the 76 citizens who joined the forces and gave the supreme sacrifice, and to pay respect to those who suffered physical and mental wounds because of the war,” Baird said.