Eternal flame only lasts until gas bill arrives

[Benevolent One]

Sat Jan 10, 4:57 am ET

BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. – An "eternal" flame at Bullhead City's new veterans memorial park that only lasted until city officials received a $961 gas bill has been re-lit following complaints by veterans groups.

The Medal of Honor Memorial at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Park alongside the Colorado River was lit on Veterans Day in November. When the bill arrived in late December, city officials were stunned.

"It caught us by surprise," City Manager Tim Ernster said Thursday. "What we decided to do for the time being is to turn the flame on ... for special events, for Veterans Day, Fourth of July, Memorial Day — those types of activities."

The flame was extinguished on Monday. The Mohave Valley Daily News published a story Friday quoting city officials and disgruntled veterans who had worked to pay for and build the memorial before turning it over to the city.

The flame was back on by midmorning Friday following a meeting of city officials.

"What happened was really a miscommunication," city spokesman Steve Johnson said. "The issue came up one day and it was never intended to be shut off."

Johnson said the flame is impressive, but city parks officials are looking at ways to put a smaller burner in place and only use the larger one at special events.

"We're looking at alternatives, because $1,000 a month in these economic times is certainly a consideration," Johnson said.

 

[Benevolent One]

Now, which one of these statements is true? They can't both be true can they?

"It caught us by surprise," City Manager Tim Ernster said Thursday. "What we decided to do for the time being is to turn the flame on ... for special events, for Veterans Day, Fourth of July, Memorial Day — those types of activities."

OR...​

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"What happened was really a miscommunication," city spokesman Steve Johnson said. "The issue came up one day and it was never intended to be shut off."

And didn't it occur to somebody to check on how much it might cost to keep this thing lit before they decided to start this project in the first place? And why did the politicians think that they had to right to turn it off after these veterans worked and paid for this thing to be built?

 

[TexasRaceLady]

What I'm wondering, is "How BIG is that flame?" Couldn't a smaller one have been used?

And, yes, BenOne --- why wasn't the cost of keeping the flame lit ever brought up.

 

[SlowNeasy]

The flame was extinguished on Monday. The Mohave Valley Daily News published a story Friday quoting city officials and disgruntled veterans who had worked to pay for and build the memorial before turning it over to the city.

It looks like the veterans built the monument and then turned it over to the city. I can see where the city could be caught by surprise IF they weren't involved with the planning. Whether they were or not I have no idea.