Bill McKown
Friends of the late Bill McKown went before the Great Bend City Council Monday night to request that a statue of McKown be placed in Jack Kilby Square.
McKown was a resident of Great Bend from 1965 until the day he passed away in 2014.
Bob Feldt says McKown suffered spine and neck injuries in a traffic accident at the age of 19, but continued to find ways to give back to the Great Bend community despite being rendered to a wheelchair.
Bob Feldt Audio
McKown was a Scoutmaster for Boys Scouts, served as a Kansas delegate to the President’s Commission for the Handicapped, and served on many boards and committees.
Feldt says the group of friends will raise the projected $200,000 for the statue to be sculpted by Chet Kale, but wanted permission to place the life-sized statue of McKown in his wheelchair in the southwest corner of Jack Kilby Square in downtown Great Bend.
Council member Allene Owen was all for the idea to honor McKown but recognized there were questions on its desired location.
Allene Owen Audio
The Bill McKown Memorial Committee has launched the fundraising campaign to build the monument and mentioned the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo and Veterans Memorial Park as other possible locations.
The city council approved the committee’s desire to submit an application to place the statue, but getting approval on its location will be determined at a later meeting.