CENTERVILLE—With all of the turmoil in the world, the Centerville-Farmington Rotary erected a “Peace Pole” in a small corner of Centerville as a symbol to bring the world together with more tolerance and kindness. The Peace Pole was unveiled Sept. 11 with the words, “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in four languages – English, Chinese, Spanish, and Ute. It sits in the area of 180 W. Parrish Lane. 

“We discovered this 10 foot wide piece of land that’s about 80 feet long between the fence and grass,” said Community Service Chair, Steve Thacker at the ceremony. “Nobody owns it because of the surveying gap so nobody took responsibility for it. It was in poor condition, with graffiti on the cinder block wall next to it and overgrown trees.”

About two years ago, Paul Child, who was the Centerville Police Chief at the time and a Rotary member noticed the pathway and brought it to the club, he said. 

“COVID-19 played a part,” said Child. “Prior to that I was going to the gym every day before work.”

Then COVID-19 hits and the gyms shut down, he said. “I was wondering what I was going to do to get a little exercise. I remembered something my mom said to me in the early 80s, she said ‘cops need to get out on the streets more and do some walking.’ That nagged at me through the years and I decided I was going to get out every day that I can before work in my uniform and walk the neighborhood.”

It was an amazing experience, said Child. “One day I was walking in this neighborhood right here and someone came out and showed me what was going on. Believe it or not I was not aware of the situation.”

There was a corridor that was dark and overgrown, messy, that invited no good, he said. “There were beer cans and evidence of drug use, graffiti on the wall and no lighting. I thought ‘this is crazy, why didn’t I know about this?’”

Child said he went to the city and asked what could be done about it. “They said nobody owns that property. I got the mayor and showed him. The Rotary is always asking for projects so I got an idea. I showed them the property two years ago and here we are today.”

“I know it’s a little area but small things precede large things,” said Mayor Clark Wilkinson. “Hats off to the Rotary because the government didn’t step in. I’m grateful that didn't happen because too often people look to the government to solve their problems instead of getting out and volunteering.”

That’s what the Rotary is, a group who were willing and ready to clean up this area, said Wilkinson. “It was for Centerville, our ghetto. This is incredible. We should all get involved in the same way and take care of each other.”

Rotarians are people of action, said Membership Chair, Dale Thomas. “We rescued this piece of abandoned property and not only made it a safer place but it will always be a place of tranquility to be shared.”