Vets' Corner — Celebrating our heroes
By Ron Verini
Friday, November 6, 2009 10:52 AM PST
Tomorrow is a big day for military events in Ontario such as the Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 890 S.W. Fourth Ave., situated in the Park Center Shopping Center where the Plaza Restaurant is.
Bleachers will be set up by Ontario High School to watch the Veterans Day Parade. The 36-foot Vet Center Van from the VA Hospital will also be set up giving seasonal flu shots for free to veterans. For information on this most important vaccination, please call Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida at (541) 889-1978.
Janice Gates will also be at Park Center in honor of her son Josh Brennan, who gave the ultimate sacrifice for us. Don Wilson will be displaying his car along with the muscle cars that will be in the parade and end up at Park Center for all to see. Along with Don’s cars will be the Idaho Motor Pool with a display, and just maybe we might see the 116th show off. Gandolfos will be supplying snacks at the open house and will also have a hot dog stand set up for those that wish for a special treat. The unveiling of the Veterans Monument in front of FRCC will take place at 9 a.m., only a block away from the celebration at Park Center. Participate in all of the events, and support our community of veterans and advocates. On Monday, a presentation will take place at the Ontario Chamber Forum that will talk about how you might help in the veteran community. Then, on Wednesday, the official ribbon cutting of the Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida headquarters will be at 10:30 a.m. Veterans Day is celebrated on this special day so, please, before or after the ribbon cutting, visit your local cemetery and remember those who have given all, then honor all veterans (past, present and future). Payette High School will also have a Veterans Day program at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday in the high school auditorium.
Our local Legion donated to the Charley Company, 116th Christmas Program. This has helped, and we hope the community sees in its heart the need for the children of our local military families this Christmas. We have about 90 children that have needs this holiday.
Will you all look into your hearts and think about taking on the responsibility of only one child to help this year.
A donation or a gift to one child that you or your church, business or family might help in this time of need. Kelly Jones, the family coordinator for the 116th, has teamed up with the Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida to put this together, so call us at (541) 889-1978 and learn more about what you might do to help. Please, it does not take much if we do it as a community.
Ronald Verini is a local veterans advocate who writes a weekly column for the Argus Observer. He can be contacted at (541) 881-8881, pencilsforpeace@q.com or P.O. Box 933, Ontario, OR 97914. The views and opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily represent those of the Argus.
