Mayor says city is committed to costs for repairing soldier

Officials with the City of Demopolis are currently reviewing three possible designs for an obelisk that will sit atop the downtown monument that was damaged in 2016.

Members of the city council were provided renderings of possible obelisks and asked by Mayor John Laney to review them to be discussed at the next council meeting, which is scheduled for Thursday, March 1.

The obelisk will replace a soldier that was damaged when a police patrol vehicle ran into the monument, causing extensive damage to the soldier, which stood in homage of those soldiers who lost their lives in the Civil War. According to officials, the officer had fallen asleep while on patrol in the early morning hours and drove into the monument. The officer was not injured.

Following months of discussion and debate, the council voted 3-2 to replace the soldier with an obelisk and to honor those lives lost in all American wars.

During the regular council meeting on Feb. 15, local resident Harold Park, who has been in favor of restoring the statue to its original state, asked the council about the status of the soldier. The mayor said the statue would be repaired. Those repairs will not be covered by the city’s insurance coverage as it will no longer be part of the monument.

“I feel the city is committed to the costs involved [in repairing the statue],” Laney said.

(This article originally appeared in the Wednesday, February 28 issue of the Demopolis Times.)