Resident urges board to restore Veterans Memorial moved from Fitch High School entrance

Michael Butis, an Austintown resident and veteran, addressed the board during public comment on Oct. 23 to object to the removal and relocation of the Veterans Memorial that had been placed in front of Fitch High School.

Butis said he graduated from Fitch High School in 1964 and praised the memorial as a gift to the school community that allowed students and visitors to see and remember military service. “That was beautiful,” he said of the memorial. He told the board he was “quite disappointed” with its relocation and said the memorial’s new location on the building’s north side is fenced off with temporary steel fencing and cut off from public view.

“I don’t understand why that was done,” Butis said, adding he did not know whether the change followed any prior discussion. He urged the board to hear more community input and “maybe you can put it back over there where it should be.”

A board representative acknowledged Butis’s request for a reply and said he would receive a written response within 48 hours.

No board action to change the memorial’s placement was recorded in the public meeting minutes during the session; Butis’s remarks were made during the public-comment portion of the meeting and the board indicated it would respond to his request in writing.