Community to honor veterans this week with programs

A grateful north Big Horn County community will salute veterans with programs in schools and the senior citizens center Friday in honor of Veterans Day, which is celebrated annually on November 11.
Lovell schools will present their annual salute to veterans on Friday, Nov. 10, at the Lovell High School Johnny Winterholler Gym.
Organizer Chauna Bischoff, music director at Lovell Elementary School, said she feels strongly that veterans of the armed forces must be honored.
“I just think it’s important,” Bischoff said. “I feel like people are losing a lot of respect for veterans, and especially being a mom (of a veteran), it’s hard. You can see what a tour of duty does. My son Scotty (Dillon) was deployed twice to Iraq.
Friday’s program is for students and the community as a whole, Bischoff said.
“It’s for everybody because we all benefit from people willing to serve,” she said. “We need to honor them and say ‘thank you’ and pay tribute to them.”
The program at Winterholler Gym – entitled With Respect and Gratitude, Lovell Schools Honor Those Who Served -- will begin at 8:45 a.m. with members of Robert Boyd Stewart American Legion Post 11 posting the colors, followed by the LHS Show Choir – the Sugar Beats – singing “The National Anthem.”
Following an introduction by Lovell School Board member Deb Fink, Lovell Elementary students – K-5 – will sing “We Honor You,” followed by the combined middle school/high school choir singing “Our America.”
LHS history and civics teacher Caleb Sanders will be the guest speaker, after which the high school band and K-12 singers will perform “Armed Forces – The Pride of America” featuring the hymns of each branch of the U.S. military.
After Post 11 retrieves the colors, LHS senior Croix will play “Taps” on the trumpet, after which all in attendance will join together to sing “America the Beautiful.”
Fink will deliver closing remarks.

Rocky Mountain today
Rocky Mountain schools will hold a school Veterans Day assembly today (Thursday) at 9 a.m. at the Rocky Mountain Middle/High School Gym.
According to Rocky Mountain music teacher Mandie Asay, in a note to parents and students, the assembly will include patriotic songs involving music students from both Rocky Mountain Elementary and RMMHS “to create a giant choir and band paying tribute to veterans through beautiful music.”
Members of the community are invited to attend the assembly, which also features guest speaker Erica Griffin, a staff member at RMMHS.

Senior Center
The North Big Horn Senior Citizens Center will host the annual Senior Center Veterans Day program at noon Friday, organized by American Legion Post 11 and the Senior Center staff. The lunch is free for all veterans compliments of the Bank of Lovell.
Post 11 Historian Nicolle Laffin will be the MC, and the program will feature patriotic numbers by Lovell Elementary School fifth graders, who will sing “On Veterans Day” and “This Flag We Fly.”
The speaker will be veteran Lee Hudon of Lovell, who served in the U.S. Army, the Army Reserve, U.S. Coast Guard, the Washington Air National Guard and the U.S. Navy, starting with his enlistment in the Army in 1966. (See related story.) He comes from a long line of veterans, starting with his fifth great-grandfather, Captain David Schomp, who served under General George Washington in the Revolutionary War.
Senior Center director Kim Gifford will introduce all veterans in attendance, and four honor quilts will be presented. “Taps” will be played by David Peck and Dale Fowler. The color guard will be organized by Post 11.

Saturday breakfast
Post 11 will host a free Veterans Day breakfast Saturday from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Lovell Fire Hall. Students from The Point youth center will assist in serving the breakfast. All veterans are welcome.