Proposed Statue to Honor Residents with Disabilities

by Melissa Reurink

Organizers need to raise $30,000 by January to begin work on a new Memorial Park statue to commemorate Rapid City residents with disabilities.



The Americans with Disabilities Act Tribute Memorial, which has received city council approval, would be the first new statue placed in





Ryan Soderlin/Journal staff Bruce Backens holds a model of a statue of his brother, Scotty Backens. Backens wants a statue of his brother, who was an inspiration to disabled people in Rapid City, to be placed in Memorial Park. STATUE SCOTTY BACKENS BRUCE BACKENS MEMORIAL PARK

Memorial Park in years.



The bronze statue, modeled after the late Scotty Backens, will be located near the mid-block Omaha Street crosswalk. Scotty’s brother, Bruce Backens, has partnered with Western Resources for dis-ABLED Independence to commission the statue to commemorate not only his brother’s life, but also the life of everyone with disabilities.



“It’s really for the community, too — it’s an art piece for the community. Scotty’s just the spokesperson for everybody with trials and tribulations,” Bruce Backens said. “Each day brings a new horizon. That was him.”



Scotty Backens, a long-time fixture in downtown Rapid City, used a wheelchair for most of his adult life after a degenerative muscle and nerve disease robbed him of the use of his legs. He died three years ago.

“Scotty was really, truly a symbol of Americans with disabilities,” WRDI executive director Ann Van Loan said. “But we want it much more than for Scotty, but for all people.



“When we talk about disabilities, we talk about physical, mental, emotional, even learning disabilities.”



The goal is to unveil the bronze memorial in late July 2010 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a groundbreaking piece of federal civil rights legislation for people with disabilities.



But first, WRDI has to raise at least $60,000 total and $30,000 by January to get the ball rolling on the sculpture, Van Loan said. Local artist John Lopez, the hands behind many of the City of Presidents figures, has already agreed to sculpt the project.



The city approved a statue and base 5-½-feet high and 10-feet wide to be placed in the existing grass circle near the crosswalk. The statue will sit on a raised circular base composed of granite honor stones engraved with the names of significant donors. Under the agreement, WRDI will purchase and erect the statue and then transfer it to the city.



After working for months to get city approval, Backens is eager to get going on the next step: fundraising.



“The process was long, but the city has been really supportive of the idea. It was going through the right channels and a lot of patience. That’s what I needed,” Backens said.



Now, “It’s just a matter of getting the money. That’s the key, but we’ll get it. It’ll happen.”



Contact Emilie Rusch at 394-8453 or emilie.rusch@rapidcityjournal.com.



Source: http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_4fc35780-c8e9-11de-be8d-001cc4c002e0.html