News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Locating the Upper Cumberland State Veterans Cemetery in White County will be a huge asset to the community.
That’s according to County Executive Denny Wayne Robinson who said he is excited at the prospect. He said the county was involved in the process in the past but thought it had missed its chance when the search shifted to other areas of the region.
“We have been pursuing that for about 6-years,” Robinson said. “We had some land, different land, actually, and it ended up falling through. We thought it had moved on to other pastures somewhere else. Then last week, we were pleasantly surprised to hear we’re back in the running.”
Robinson said it is a great source of pride to White County to just be considered for the cemetery’s location. Tennessee’s Building Commission’s Executive Committee voted to pursue the purchase of 127 acres in the county last week.
“There’s probably no greater honor than to be able to hold in high esteem the people who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom,” Robinson said. “I guess this is a good week to be talking about it.”
If the state can complete the land deal and build the cemetery, Robinson said White County could benefit by new jobs and an increase in outside visitors.
“I hate to use the word ‘tourism’, but that’s the category it would fall under,” Robinson said. “It’s visitors to the community. People coming in to visit their loved ones at the grave site. Plus, there’ll be some jobs tied with it. There’s probably going to be 10 to 15 long-term jobs associated with this cemetery. Under construction, there’ll be more than that, but long-term, we’re probably looking at 10 or 15 jobs. Good jobs.”
Robinson said White County has long supported putting a veterans cemetery anywhere in the Upper Cumberland, even donating money to veterans groups pursuing the project.
By putting a cemetery in the Upper Cumberland, the Tennessee Department of Veterans Services and the federal Department of Veterans Affairs meet their stated goal of having a veterans cemetery within 70 miles of every veteran in the state.
