MANITOUWADGE — The town has put a call out for volunteers who want to step up and help take care of the town’s cenotaph, which honours local veterans.
The cenotaph has long been in the care of the Manitouwadge Legion but after it closed, no one was taking care of the monument in an official capacity.
“There had been some chatter on social media among the residents of the town about the state of the cenotaph here in town and there were some issues about who was responsible for it since we no longer have a legion in town,” said Don Kruger, fire chief and head of the cenotaph committee.
“So, upon reflection and discussion, the township decided that, while we didn’t necessarily own the cenotaph, it was on township property so it would be best if we spearheaded some kind of effort to renew or rejuvenate it.
Kruger said that a single person had been caring for the cenotaph since the legion's closure, but had recently stopped due to unknown reasons.
“That individual is either no longer willing to do it or it moved away, I don't know,” he said, “but it had been noticed that no one was looking after it and so, people decided it was time for something to happen.”
The committee has been searching for volunteers for a few days and Kruger said that they already have some volunteers that have stepped forward.
“For the most part it's just that everyone feels that we owe it to our veterans to, to look after the monument and the cenotaph,” he said. “And, as far as the people that are volunteering, most, if not all of them have family members that are, or were veterans and, and so they felt the need to volunteer to help out.”
Any residents who wish to join the committee and help care for the cenotaph can do so by contacting Kruger or Omer Collin through the town office.