Plaque would honor those serving in military

Cara Latham
   UPPER FREEHOLD — Township officials are looking into a resident’s proposal to erect a tribute plaque to members of the community who are actively serving in the Middle East.
   During the Township Committee’s Sept. 6 meeting, Somerset Court resident Bruce Novozinsky asked the Township Committee to look into possibly providing funding for the plaque.
   Mr. Novozinsky said he and a few other people got the idea during a banquet for the golf team at Allentown High School last spring, where two community members who had served in Iraq — including Township Committeeman Stephen Alexander — were special guests.
   ”We came up with an idea that we would erect a plaque in the high school in honor of those who have graduated from Allentown High School who are actively serving in any one of the branches of the armed services, or in reserve capacity or the Coast Guard, which is often overlooked,” he said.
   He said the idea grew beyond that scope as the group recalled there are also current students in the school district whose parents are also serving overseas in the war against terror, and their lives have also been impacted.
   Mr. Novozinsky said he then approached the school board in June regarding his idea, and is now approaching the township to see what can be done there.
   ”We want to make this communitywide,” he said. “We don’t want to limit ourselves to the high school; we don’t want to limit it to the school district.”
   He said the group would like to create a movable object on an easel that can be placed throughout the community. This is so that it can be displayed during community functions, like the Memorial Day parade, he added. The proposed plaque would contain the insignia of each of the branches of service and list the names of the people who are currently serving, Mr. Novozinsky said. Fortunately, there have not been any casualties among those township residents currently serving, he added.
   After the war is over, Mr. Novozinsky suggested that the plaque be archived — perhaps in the municipal building or library.
   ”It’s not a political stand,” he said. “You have your own beliefs on the war, but the bottom line is there are people within our community serving.”
   He said the group of people who came up with the idea want to keep it small and dignified.
   While he said he is unsure of the plaque’s cost, he believes it will be around $700. He asked the township to look into its budget to see if it can provide some financial support to the project. There are private donations to the cause already, he added.
   Members of the Township Committee said they supported the idea.
   Mr. Alexander and Committeeman Bill Miscoski, who both support the idea, asked Mr. Novozinsky if the plaque would also include residents from Allentown, and Mr. Novozinsky said the group wouldn’t want to slight anyone, and that the process of getting all the names onto the plaque would be a careful one.
   Mayor Stephen Fleischacker also said the plaque was a good idea, and that he thinks the community should do it.
   ”The question now is because we put together such a tight budget, we may not even have the $800 or $700 in this year’s budget,” he said. “We have to check.”
   If there is no money for that, he said the Township Committee would certainly look at putting it into next year’s budget, or officials could help see that the project be funded privately.