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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2016)
A12 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016 FROM PAGE A1 FLAGS: continued from Page A1 STAFF PHOTO BY JADE McDOWELL The grave of Clemit C. Brock is marked with lowers and a lag on Memorial Day at the Hermiston Cemetery. Brock’s casket lag is one of the last known 48-star lags displayed on the Avenue of Flags at the cemetery. STAFF PHOTO BY JADE McDOWELL Ken May displays the 48-star lag he found on the Avenue of Flags at the Hermiston Cemetery on Monday. STAFF PHOTO BY JADE McDOWELL Kelly Jackson, left, with her mother Grayson Jackson sits with a bouquet of lowers to put on her great-grandfather’s grave at the Memorial Day ceremony at the Hermiston Cemetery. STAFF PHOTO BY JADE McDOWELL STAFF PHOTO BY JADE McDOWELL A lag is folded while members of VFW Post 4750 and American Legion Post 37 stand at attention during a ceremony at the Hermiston Cemetery on Memorial Day. Duane Storms, right, of VFW Post 4750 reads off the names of the veterans who died in the past year during a Memorial Day ceremony at the Hermiston Cemetery. PROM: continued from Page A1 STAFF PHOTO BY TAMMY MALGESINI Armando Mendoza dances with Ruth Hawes during the Senior Citizen Prom Saturday at Brookdale Hermiston. STEP (Student Tech Expanded Programs) would like to thank the regional community for the support and out-of-this-world participation which contributed to the extraordinary success of IMESD’s STEP Tech Expo. Continued support is appreciated as we plan for additional programs! with Hermiston Kiwanis, organized the event as a way to reach out and give back to the community. All the smiling faces, Zepeda said, made the ef- fort worth it. About two dozen students helped with organizing the prom, which included dancing, bingo, pictures, refreshments and visiting with those in atten- dance. Vanessa Ambriz, a HHS junior and Key Club vice president, said it was a great way to bring the two generations together. Ruby Halvorson, 89, agreed. “It makes your heart just beat happily,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed everything — the laughing, the danc- ing and everybody is so friendly.” Lori Scheel, Brookdale Terrace executive director, said she appreciated the ef- forts of the high school stu- dents. The event, she said, provided an opportunity for the residents to socialize with the younger genera- tion while spurring memo- ries from their youth. With her face beaming, Halvorson shared about Need Shade or Outdoor Living Space? W e’ve Got YOU covered! Paio Covers Pergolas · Sunrooms Retractable Awnings FREE estimates! Screen Rooms 541-720-0772 Handrail · Sun/Solar Visit our showroom: Shades & More! 102 E Columbia Dr. License License #188965 #188965 Kennewick, WA 99336 www.mybackyardbydesign.com ǡ ơ IMESD’s Step Tech Expo: Pendleton n Convention Center OSP Forensics Crime Lab WTechlink ǡ Facilitating regional school districts transportation: Milton-Freewater, La Grande and Morrow County school districts ơ Ǩ Graduation Gifts Put a smile on the heart with the power of flowers HWY 395, HERMISTON with local ties who have fought to defend their country. May makes it a tradition to visit the cemetery ev- ery Memorial Day to ind the lags of his father and grandmother, who both served in the Army. He said he often chats with other people also looking for the lags of their family members, which isn’t always easy in a large cemetery where the Avenue of Flags is never set up the same way twice. “That lag next year might be all the way in the back corner,” he said, pointing to his grandmother’s lag. Duane Storms, who led Mon- day morning’s memorial ceremony at the cemetery on behalf of VFW Post 4750, said when volunteers gathered at 5 p.m. to put away the lags he would retire the 48-star lag. It will be folded properly and placed in a shadow box, where it will be displayed in the VFW post along with the four other 48-star lags already retired from the Ave- nue of Flags. Later in the day a search of the cemetery before the lags were tak- en down by volunteers resulted in four more 48-star lags being lo- cated. Storms said all of them will be placed in shadow boxes and dis- played. The lags displayed at the Av- enue of Flags are casket lags do- nated by veterans’ families. Names of the deceased the lag honors are stenciled on the side of the lag. Flags from the display are peri- odically retired, Storms said, “be- cause they’re so weathered, and they can’t be replaced.” He said there are about 75 oth- er lags that are starting to get too weathered to continue to display. The VFW plans to publish a list of the names on those lags in the newspaper this year to try and re- turn them to family members who wish to get them back. The star-spangled banner had 48 stars from 1912, when New Mex- ico and Arizona were added to the union, until 1959, when Alaska and Hawaii became states. The 48-star lag that May dis- covered Monday had “Clemit Brock, Navy Air Wing” stenciled on the side. In a nearby section of the cemetery a headstone read “Clemit C. Brock 1924-1950.” Many of the visitors to the Hermiston Cemetery Monday morning were there for the annual Memorial Day Ceremony hosted by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4750 and American Legion Post 37. During the ceremony Storms offered a prayer before reading the names of all of the local veterans who died in the past year. Veter- ans, families and individuals stood quietly at attention while a bugler played “Taps” to bring the short ceremony to a close. Storms said he was grateful for the volunteers who stepped up each year to set up and take down the lags. “We need all the help we can get because our youngest guy is 63,” he said. attending her high school prom and graduation in Haines. However, she said the celebrations back then weren’t as elaborate. “They didn’t throw a big party like they do now,” Halvorson said. GeorgeAnne Smith, 66, said the Senior Citizen Prom facilitated additional interactions with her fellow residents that didn’t cen- ter around mealtime. Also, she said it was fun to get dressed up. Johnson and Del- la Burch, 71, were both crowned prom queens. Thrilled with the honor, Burch said she couldn’t wait to call her grand- daughter and tell her about it. Johnson took ad- vantage of the honor by calling Mendoza over for one final photo opportu- nity. “The looks on their faces says it all,” said Alex Que- sada, out-going Key Club president. STUDENT OF THE WEEK Juana Martinez Boardman Riverside High School Juana Martinez is an outstanding student leader who has taken great pride in being the first in her family to graduate from high school and go on to college. She is the daughter of Martin Martinez and Maria Vazquez and has two younger siblings following in her footsteps. Over her four years at Riverside Juana has maintained a 4.0 GPA, earning her the title of Valedictorian. Juana has also earned 57 college credits towards her AAOT degree through BMCC. In her spare time Juana enjoys spending time with friends and family and participating in various clubs and community service activities. In the fall Juana plans to attend BMCC before transferring to the Oregon Institute of Technology to earn a degree in nursing. Proudly Sponsored by CONGRATULATIONS JUANA! 541-567-4305 BARENBRUG Mon-Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 12pm-5am GREAT IN GRASS www.cottagefl owersonline.com
