The Guthrie Center Chamber of Commerce met Tuesday afternoon for its January session, and one of the items discussed was in relation to the Guthrie County Freedom Rock slated to be painted in September.

In 2013, the first year of his Freedom Rock Tour, artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen painted 10 rocks throughout the state of Iowa, and if the funds are raised in time, Guthrie County will be the final county to receive painting in 2014.

Chamber President Lonnie Carrick tells Raccoon Valley Radio the rock is set to be placed near the west entrance of Guthrie Center, just across from the County Fairgrounds assuming it gets painted in September.  If the funds are not raised by that time however, Guthrie County would fall to the bottom of Sorensen’s painting schedule.

The Guthrie County Arts Council has taken responsibility for rallying community support for the Freedom Rock, and Vice President Larry Glade says it will take between $5,000 and $7,000 in fundraising to be able to pay for the painting and surrounding beautification of the Freedom Rock.

While the Council does have a ways to go to come up with the allotted funds, Glade says that the monies needed to haul the rock into Guthrie County have already been raised.

Carrick says he has been in talks with the Guthrie County Arts Council about the Freedom Rock, and neither feels raising the funds by September will be an issue.