Houston celebrates new patriotic landmark

The football teams at Houston County and Veterans high schools will take to the field at home games this fall with patriotic flair.

The teams will play in a new stadium christened “Freedom Field,” in the shadow of a water tower newly painted in red, white and blue.

The eye-catching tower on Ga. 96 has gotten so much attention that the county held a dedication ceremony for it Thursday. About 75 people attended, including more than a dozen military members.

Houston County school Superintendent Mark Scott said when people sit on the home side of the new stadium, they will be looking directly at the water tower.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to continue to honor the men and women who serve our country,” Scott said. “This will become a hub of Houston County Board of Education sporting events.”

The county pays a company a monthly fee to maintain 15 water towers, and part of that includes periodically painting the towers inside and out for maintenance purposes. But the county paid an extra $56,000 for the special paint job.

“This is a demonstration by the people of Houston County of the way we feel about our military,” said County Commission Chairman Tommy Stalnaker.

Col. Dawn Lancaster, vice commander of the 78th Air Base Wing at Robins Air Force Base, said the gesture is appreciated.

“This is my 13th assignment, and we always talk about great support throughout this wonderful nation that we have for our military men and women,” she said. “But I am most sincere when I say I’ve never felt such support for what we do.”

The tower is located on Ga. 96 just west of Houston County High School. White letters on the blue pedestal spell out “Houston County” on one side and “EDIMGIAFAD” on the other, which stands for “Every Day in Middle Georgia is Armed Forces Appreciation Day.”

Robbie Dunbar, the county’s operations director, said consideration is being given to painting other tanks in a similar manner. However, he noted that kind of paint job is better suited for tanks than rest on a single pedestal, and most of the county’s tanks rest on legs.

The final coat of the paint job was done with 70 gallons of an advanced thermoset fluoropolymer paint that cost $400 per gallon.

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Houston celebrates new patriotic landmark."