Sunday, January 11, 2009

The Cost Of Patriotism

An "eternal" flame at Bullhead City's new veterans memorial park lasted only one month until city officials received the first gas bill. The Medal of Honor Memorial at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Park alongside the Colorado River was lit on Veterans Day in November--but when the whopping $961 bill arrived in late December, city officials extinguished it.

"It caught us by surprise," City Manager Tim Ernster told the media. "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."

After complaints from disgruntled veterans who had worked to pay for and build the memorial, it was relit. No word yet on who would foot the bill for patriotism.

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