NAVARRE
RAILS TOWARD SAFETY
The Independent
June 23, 2002
By: Shane Riggs
The village of Navarre will be the first municipality to permanently
acknowledge the assistance of a local foundation dedicated
to railroad safety.
Village Council has agreed to erect a plaque near the railroad
crossing at Wooster Street.
“The crossing is on the East Side of town on Wooster Street,” Mayor
Bob Benson said. “On the other side of the tracks it becomes Fohl Road.
Wooster Street is the first light, St. Paul’s church is on the corner.”
Benson said a grant from the Angels on Track Foundation allowed
the village to acquire the funding needed to install gates
and lights at the crossing which was otherwise unmarked and
ranked in the top 10 most dangerous railroad crossings in the
county.
The foundation provided $29,375 of the $34,271 needed in matching
money by the village for the gates and lights. Benson said
he wanted the foundation to be acknowledged for their donation.
“We just wanted to have some type of nice recognition to thank the foundation
for making the crossing safer,” he said. “We want to put wording
on a plaque recognizing the foundation for that crossing. We wanted to do something
to thank them.”
Vicky Moore, one of the founders of the Canal Fulton-based
foundation, said while she was appreciative of the effort,
she and her husband, Denny did not start the organization
for self-recognition. To that end, the couple has asked that
their son, Ryan, who died at 16, be recognized on the marker
as well. His death due to a collision with a train at an
unmarked railroad crossing on March 25, 1995, ultimately
inspired the couple to start the foundation.
“The mayor asked us if he could acknowledge the foundation somehow and
we agreed we would be happy if our son, Ryan, could be mentioned in the proclamation,”
she said.
The village is expected to mount the plaque on a large rock
and place it near the crossing. Of the 11 crossings made
safer through grants from the foundation, this will be the
first permanent acknowledgment of the source of that funding.
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