ONE RESULT OF NOT TEACHING SPELLING IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS:

On Wednesday, July 15, 2015, a story appeared on the front of the City/State section of the Houston Chronicle.  This wasn't just a Katy story--it was in the city-wide edition story. The story followed an investigative report on Channel 2 News.  See the video here from Channel 2: http://www.click2houston.com/news/veteran-says-monument-has-mistakes/34146720 

How embarrassing it was to hear about how the well-meaning activity of the Katy Rotary Club had been tarnished by the poor spelling ability of a worker assigned to write the tribute on the side of the marker to honor the veterans and victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack.

Katy-area veterans memorial gets spell-checked

By Leah Binkovitz July 14, 2015 Updated: July 15, 2015 10:06am

Errors on a monument to U.S. armed services are being corrected, said Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers.

It wasn't exactly what supporters had in mind when they decided to build a five-story, steel-and-concrete monument to honor veterans and the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"The 'N' in Marine was backwards and since 'Corps' was dropped from the Marine Corps, we need to add an 's,'" Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers said of errors found on the Katy-area project that's under construction. The pentagonal base also appeared to incorrectly spell Air Force as one word. And there was roughly four inches of space between the "r" and "f."

However, supporters of the Freedom Park Memorial Tower said work is already underway to correct the mistakes, first spotted by a Vietnam veteran after the base of the memorial was poured last week.

"The minor errors will be corrected before the monument is finished," Meyers said Tuesday.

In fact, two had already been fixed by late Tuesday afternoon, according to Ken Burton, the state judge advocate for a local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post and member of the Katy Rotary Club. Burton and David Frishman, a fellow Rotary member and the project head, were instrumental in the project's realization and began working on it some four years ago.

"It is a work in progress," Burton said, "our community will be proud of it, far into the future."

Ground was broken in April on the Freedom Park Memorial Tower, located near the Freedom Park baseball fields off Westheimer Parkway. The project is a partnership of the Katy Rotary Club, VFW Post 9182 & Ladies Auxiliary and the county. More than $300,000 in material and services have been donated, Meyer said.

The memorial is actually under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as it sits in the Barker Reservoir flood plain.

Jeff Pantle is one of the individuals who dedicated his time to the project. The contractor responded to the errors by telling KPRC-TV, "We can fix it. You know we shouldn't focus on the negative, we haven't even unveiled it, yet." He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Both Burton and Frishman learned of the mistakes from local TV news this week.

"For me it was an ambush," said Burton, a veteran himself. But, he quipped, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. And after so much work, he's just looking forward to the unveiling and consecration of the monument on this coming Sept. 11.

"It's a fantastic project and we are very happy to be partnering with the Rotary Club and others," said Betty Edmundson, president of the Ladies Auxiliary.

When completed, the memorial will be just over 50 feet tall with a five-point Texas Lone Star at the top, according to plans from Meyer. The five branches of the military will be painted in black against a white background. It will be lit at night.

Frishman said in an email that the six-foot-tall base will include a metal container that holds significant items, including the Bible, artifacts from all three 9/11 sites, personal medals of Post members, and the Fort Bend County flag, among other things.

"This is going to be such a legacy for decades to come," said Frishman. "People going down Westheimer Parkway will see this beautiful monument. All the kids who go to the baseball park are going to say, 'Daddy what's that tower for,' and they'll say, 'The veterans.'"

Go here to see photos and a copy of the Chronicle story: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighborhood/katy/news/article/Katy-area-veterans-memorial-gets-spell-checked-6384891.php