City officials in Wesson plan a groundbreaking Saturday for a veterans memorial – a monument that should eventually serve as the gateway to a new town park.

     Wesson has received a grant that will cover the landscaping, walking track, lighting, and perhaps part of a pavilion for a town park to be located at the corner of Beech Street and Church Street, said Wesson Mayor Alton Shaw.

     The groundbreaking for the veterans memorial will be at 9 a.m. Saturday at the site of the proposed park.

     The memorial will feature a brick walkway, benches, a fountain and flagpoles, according to a rendering of the memorial

     “We were looking for something that could be a cornerstone entrance to the park,” Shaw said. “We figured there’s nothing better than honoring our veterans.”

     The city will purchase the needed bricks for the memorial, and a city employee who can lay brick will construct it.

     The memorial, however, may stand alone for a while. Shaw doesn’t expect work on the park to begin until next spring.

     Though it’s not part of the current park grant, Shaw said playground equipment will be included at the park, and he’s optimistic another grant can be obtained to cover the costs of the equipment.

     Shaw is also excited about another addition headed to downtown Wesson: free Wi-Fi.

     The wireless Internet service should be available within the four main blocks of downtown Wesson, Shaw said. He estimated it would be available within the next two weeks.

     The convenience will come at no additional charge to the town.

     “We’re going to be hooking into a current gateway we’re already paying for monthly,” Shaw said.

     The Wesson mayor said he’d been encouraged to pursue public Internet availability after hearing other mayors discuss the subject at a conference.

     “They said there was a lot of positive feedback,” Shaw said. “They said the low cost of getting started made it well worth it.”

     The mayor also believes the Wi-Fi will provide the town with an opportunity to support local businesses.

     When users log onto the Wi-Fi network, they’ll be greeted by a homepage featuring advertisements for Wesson businesses.

     “Right now, we are going to do that a service for the local businesses,” said the mayor.