HORSESHOE BEND, Idaho — Update: The horseshoe got mounted at the Woods Veterans Memorial Park on Sunday afternoon.
Original story:
The people of Horseshoe Bend have always had to travel over the hill to the Treasure Valley to partake in Veterans Day ceremonies, but that changes this year with the Woods Veterans Memorial Park.
This small rural town will hold a ceremony at their new park from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The ribbon cutting ceremony will include a flyover by A-10s coming over from Gowen Field, live music and a veterans service.
"This is for the veterans that actually lived and died serving our country far and local and those that dedicate their time, effort and countless hours to protect our freedoms," said Patrick Goff, the mayor of Horseshoe Bend.
We came out to this new park before Memorial Day and it looks much different now with fresh sod, a flagpole and the wall of heroes is currently being constructed, that will showcase the 327 veterans from Horseshoe Bend that have served dating all the way back to the Mexican-American War.
"Please join us on Veterans Day, this is a big deal for us," said Kimberly Welsh of the Horseshoe Bend Chamber of Commerce. "Come help us celebrate this wonderful transformation of an incredible parcel into the Woods Veterans Memorial Park."
Kaylene Woods grew up on this parcel of land as her grandparents owned it, her uncle Doyle was the mayor of Horseshoe Bend for around 20 years and this family sold the land to the city in 2015.
"This project is really special to my family and I know that each one of them currently living or not would be incredibly proud of this community," said Woods. "They have banded together with donations and work."
It took a community effort to raise money and volunteer their time to build this park, the city also got help from outside the area as well, the work started after the Idaho Transportation Department used the land as a staging ground to build the new bridge on Highway 55.
"I am beyond thrilled to have the memorial here," said Woods.
It's quite an accomplishment for one of the poorest towns in one of the poorest counties in Idaho, the land also comes with water rights and the city will use the river to keep pipes from freezing in the winter by building a well.
"The well will run at 48 degrees," said Welsh. "It will keep our pipes from freezing in the winter and that’s a huge win for the community as well."
Welsh told us this land will give children an opportunity to walk to school traveling along the busy highway, Horseshoe Bend is one of the only communities to not have a sidewalk on their main road, they have been working to changing that through grants, but Welsh told us that project now lies with ITD.
The park will also be a gateway into this community, which is a gateway to so much recreation in Idaho as the Payette River flows through Horseshoe Bend at each end of the town.
