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Veterans banners flying again in St. C.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Main Street once again features images of the area’s finest, with banners depicting veterans hanging from lamp posts and in storefronts for the second year.

Kirke Porterfield of the St. Clairsville Noon Rotary Club, who spearheaded the project, said the banners went up this past week.

“They took the Christmas decorations down, and they put the banners up right after that. It’s a little different this year. Last year we had one banner per pole, and we had some issues with the nylon ties we were using. So this year we bolted the banners back-to-back with stainless steel bolts and hung them over the rods on the pole,” he said. “I think it looks a lot better this year. There’s four banners on each pole through the whole Main Street. They’re very easy to see. When you pull into town, it gives you that ‘wow’ effect.”

The display also made evident the number of people in the area with a history of service.

“We put 40 more banners up this year than last year so far, and we’ve got another 10 or 15 printed yet. We’re still selling banners. These should be up until sometime in May, so there’s a lot of time to display, so if anyone would want a banner, there’s plenty of time.”

Porterfield said the new banners will be appearing in storefront windows. He said there is no shortage of small business owners along Main Street who would like to host a veteran’s service banner.

“We’ve had a lot of people requesting the banners for their windows,” he said. “We’ve pretty much filled all the light poles on the main street.”

He said clustering the banners in one street made for a more striking appearance.

“Last year, we had banners on some of the poles on the side streets, so this year it looks like we’re just going to have them on Main Street, then put them in the businesses in the downtown area,” he said.

Many of the banners are from the World War II era.

“A lot of the names are familiar,” he said, adding he recalled a veteran’s children or grandchildren while he was preparing the banners. “It was kind of enjoyable, putting them together.”

“You can go to the Belmont County Tourism website and hear some of the stories of some of the veterans,” he said.

A QR code will be on the banners and people will be able to download the code, which will take them to the tourism website to listen to the veteran’s story. A QR code is a type of matrix-based barcode that can be scanned with digital devices, such as a cellphone.

Belmont County Western Division Court Judge Eric Costine has agreed to voice the audio recordings if the veteran or family members prefer not to do so themselves.

“We’ve sold about 160, so I would say we have room for at least 50 or 60 more,” Porterfield said. “It’s just a one-time charge of $100.”

Once someone purchases a banner, it will continue to be hung every year.

“I just want to thank the community for the great support of the project,” he said. “I had three or four people I was talking to say it really looked nice and it really grabs your attention,” he said. “I think people enjoy looking at the new ones this year.”

Thanks also went to Jenkins Sporting Goods for making the banners.

For more information, call Porterfield at 740-391-7263. For details of the picture, call Jenkins Sporting Goods at 740-695-9300.

Anyone wishing to buy a banner should bring a picture of their veteran and cash or a check made out to the St. Clairsville Rotary Club to Jenkins Sporting Goods. Checks or money can also be dropped off at Porterfield’s Drive Thru Farm and Garden or Kirke’s Homemade Ice Cream at 50505 Rehm Road, St. Clairsville.

For those who are not able to cover the cost of a banner, the Rotary club has some funding set aside to help.

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