Sun staff
Parking spots reserved for Purple Heart recipients are now available at some government buildings and in Clermont County.
Danny Ruck, a deputy at the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office and a United States Marine Corps veteran, proposed the idea to Clermont County Commissioners in June of 2014.
Ruck, who earned a Purple Heart while serving in the Marine Corps, said he heard about Purple Heart Parking through Facebook and thought it was a good idea.
The mission of the organization is to fund parking signs for public parking lots to assist and recognize men and women who have made sacrifices and sustained injuries protecting the country, Ruck said.
The parking signs would work like the Disabled American Veterans parking spots that can be found in the parking lots of some Home Depot stores, Ruck said.
“I believe Clermont County is a good candidate for this,” Ruck said when he proposed the idea.
Wounded Warriors Family Support raises funds for the signs. Ruck said he is also looking into getting local business owners to put signs in their parking lots.
“It is a simple way to help,” Ruck said.
Clermont County Veterans’ Service Commission Executive Director Howard Daugherty, also a Purple Heart recipient, agreed that the parking spots would be a good idea.
“I would support this 100 percent,” Daugherty said after Ruck presented his idea. “I would like one at our office.”
Last week, officials installed the Purple Heart parking signs in parking lots at the administration building, Municipal Court, Clermont County Family Support Center and at the Heritage Building, which houses the Board of Elections and the Veterans’ Service Commission, communications coordinator Kathleen Williams said.
For more information about Purple Heart Parking contact Ruck at dannyruck@hotmail.com.