High River’s Royal Canadian Legion is one step closer to replacing the cenotaph at the Highwood Centre.
The project is in partnership between the Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 71 and the Highwood Memorial Centre Society.
Tim Whitford, Legion member and Chair of the Highwood Memorial Centre Society, presented a review of the project scope to High River Town Council during the Aug. 11 regular meeting.
He explained that there are opportunities for contributions from the town in the future, such as landscaping improvements.
Any contributions would be recognized on the donor recognition plaque, which will be in the Highwood Centre.
“There's still some flexibility in where the concrete replacement cut-off will be as part of our project,” Whitford said.
He explained that, depending on the final design, concrete will have to be removed to gain proper access to the foundation block.
Shovels are expected to be in the ground for the new cenotaph in September.
“We're getting a little tight on that. But that is still actually achievable if we have good weather and our design gets to us at the right time,” Whitford said. “Our desire is to hold the cenotaph dedication ceremony following the Nov. 11th service.”
The project scope includes salvaging the scroll from the existing memorial, with names of the casualties from the First World War.
“The intention will be to clean this scroll up and mount it with the Second World War one,” Whitford said.
The society plans to demolish the existing memorial and remove the foundation block.
The new memorial will be installed in four sections and assembled on site.
Following consultations with engineers around a pedestal design, large piling will be used to anchor the structure, which will obviate frost concerns and minimize geotechnical issues.
An upgraded security monitoring system has been installed, and solar lighting will be added to keep the memorial illuminated.
“The new monument is going to be quite attractive, it's significantly higher than the previous one, has a very nice blend of colours in the granite, and is expected to last for a very long time,” Whitford said.
The project was possible through a $25,000 grant from the Veterans Affairs Community War Memorial initiative and fundraising efforts.