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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.

http://www.angelsontrack.org/mi062302.html