CHARLESTON, Ill. — An effort to repair two war monuments at the Coles County Courthouse has been aided by a large anonymous donation.

The (Mattoon) Journal-Gazette and (Charleston) Times-Courier report (http://bit.ly/1w3Yuhs ) that Charleston Area Charitable Foundation Board President Mike Metzger says a person with “strong ties to the community” recently donated $30,000 to the project. The foundation has pledged to match up to $100,000 in donations for the project.

The monuments in need of the repairs are the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial at the courthouse’s northwest corner and the monument for World War I soldiers at its southwest corner.

Even with the large donation, the project is still short of the approximately $200,000 cost of doing all the work. Metzger says part of the project could begin with the current money available.