GRAND ISLAND – Tree removal at the site of the Nebraska Veterans Cemetery at Grand Island is the latest step in construction of the cemetery, Hall County Veterans Service Officer Don Shuda said Tuesday, Feb. 6.
The site is just northeast of the intersection of North Webb Road and West Capital Avenue at the location of the existing Soldiers and Sailors Cemetery. Shuda said the old cemetery will be incorporated into the new cemetery, which he projected will be open by the summer to early fall of 2025.
The cemetery will be located on close to 30 acres of land. Large construction equipment and tall piles of dirt are visible at the site.
“We want the cemetery to be appealing,” Shuda said.
Hall County Veterans Service Officer Don Shuda, (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
Discussion has occurred of having a statue at the entrance to the cemetery, showing a presentation of a flag to a veteran’s family member, Shuda said. A “soft flowing waterfall” is another possible feature at the cemetery. Those two items are not included in the construction cost, and he does not have an estimate of their cost.
Cemetery design is by CMBA Architects, and construction is being done by Sampson Construction, according to an October 2023 news release from the Nebraska Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
Site map of Nebraska Veterans Cemetery at Grand Island, (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
Shuda reviewed funding that has been received for the project. Local matching funds of $750,000 were raised when the project was started, Shuda said. The Nebraska Legislature allocated $8 million in 2023 for the project. In October 2023, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration (NCA) awarded the Nebraska Department of Veterans’ Affairs (NDVA) nearly $8.4 million for establishment of the Grand Island cemetery. A groundbreaking ceremony for the project occurred Nov. 10, 2023, at the site.
Nebraska currently has one state veterans’ cemetery in Alliance that is run by NDVA. It also has two national cemeteries – the Omaha National Cemetery and the Fort McPherson National Cemetery in Maxwell, according to the October 2023 news release from the NDVA.
NDVA Director John Hilgert in October 2023 thanked residents of Grand Island, Hall County, and Central Nebraska for their involvement in the project.
Shuda will receive $600 per month for his role in supervising construction of the Nebraska Veterans Cemetery at Grand Island. Shuda’s office serves Hall, Howard, Sherman, and Nance counties and provides services for Howard, Sherman, and Nance counties on a fee basis. Funds to pay Shuda are coming from a fund that has excess money paid to Hall County for services provided to the three counties. The Hall County Veterans Service Committee controls the fund with excess money from the three counties. Shuda said Tuesday, Feb. 6, that Mike Ponte is chairman of the five-member board, whose members are all from Hall County by state statute. The committee is responsible for supervision of “daily operation of the Hall County Veterans Service Office,” Shuda said.
The $600 per month payment decision came after a series of events at Hall County Board of Commissioners’ meetings. Commissioner Gary Quandt made a motion at the Jan. 16 meeting to pay Shuda $500 a month for his work on the cemetery, and the motion failed by a 3-4 vote. Then Commissioner Karen Bredthauer made a motion to pay Shuda $3,000 per year for his work on the cemetery, which passed 7-0. At their Jan. 30 meeting, supervisors rescinded their Jan. 16 vote because the Veterans Service Committee has control of the three-county fund with excess money.
