A sculpture donated for display at the Community Animal Shelter as a memorial to retired Greene County teacher Keith Vander Wilt, who died of glioblastoma two years ago, may be joined by other pet-themed sculptures.
The Jefferson city council at its June 25 meeting agreed to approve future sculptures on a case-by-case basis. Donors would first need to have the approval of the animal shelter board not only of the sculpture, but where it would be placed.
“Play Ball,” by Damian Radice, was submitted to the Ring Out for Art contest last summer. Vander Wilt loved dogs, and his family purchased the sculpture with the goal of donating it.
Bryan Helmus presented the idea of a sculpture garden to the council after presenting it first to the Jefferson Matters Tower View Team and then to the animal shelter board. The Tower View Team agreed to assist potential donors in locating appropriate sculptures. The animal shelter board also gave its go-ahead.
Approved sculptures would be placed at the shelter or in the adjacent Rotary Centennial Dog Park.
Council member Matt Wetrich, who knows the Vander Wilt family well, said they hoped the sculpture would be a seed for a future sculpture park. He reminded Helmus that there is a cost to maintain permanent public art, and that would be the responsibility of the animal shelter board.
