Boy Scout’s park project will honor late Fairfield Twp. firefighter

A new memorial will be installed in a Fairfield Twp. park in honor of former firefighter Paul McKendry.

The addition was proposed by Caleb Frank, a 15-year-old Eagle Scout. The Board of Trustees agreed to pay as much as half of the cost of the proposed $750 addition to the park at the intersection of Morris and Millikin roads.

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The memorial to McKendry will consist of a bench and a plaque explaining his service to Fairfield Twp.

Frank also proposed a new paver walkway leading to the branch and the replacement of dead bushes in that area of the park.

Trustee Shannon Hartkemeyer said the location of the new memorial was well-chosen.

“I’ve always thought that section over there was in need of a bench. If you want to stop and sit for a minute and rest, or if you just want to enjoy nature, there’s nowhere to do it,” she said.

McKendry worked for the Fairfield Twp. fire department from 1984 until his death in 2009. He served as the assistant fire chief and the first full-time employee of the department.

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A petition last July to rename the entire park after McKendry received 58 signatures, but trustees chose not to rename the park.

Frank said he chose to honor McKendry through his Eagle Scout project because of the previous petition and the late firefighter’s connection to the Boy Scouts program.

“He was a Scout leader to my brother, and I think he needs a memorial,” he said.

Frank plans to begin construction and ordering supplies soon. He hopes to have the memorial finished before he returns to school in August.

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