Community events honor veterans

This Friday, a variety of Veterans' Day activities will take place at various locations, ranging from a parade on the Square to events at Nevada High School and the Northeast Vernon County High School. Other events will be announced as information becomes available.

On Friday, Nov. 11, the JROTC will be holding a Veterans' Day Assembly in order to honor and pay tribute to their role models and heroes. A 9 a.m. veterans' breakfast will take place in the Nevada High School Commons, and will be followed by the 11 a.m. Veterans' Day Assembly, held in the gymnasium. To RSVP for breakfast and veteran's recognition, contact Deidre Bruce at deidrebruce@nevada.k12.

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In addition to patriotic features performed by the middle school choir and the high school band, awarded middle schoolers also will be presenting the patriotic-themed essays that they wrote in their language arts class. The guest speaker is Lt. Col. Sean Quinlan, a USMC Bronze Star with Valor recipient. During the assembly, the Nevada High School Living-Out-Loud and Student Council organizations will be selling American Flags; proceeds from this sale will go toward the Fallen Heroes Display, slated to visit Nevada on Dec. 7; $2 will be charged for the smaller flags and $4 for the bigger ones.

A highlight of the day, the Nevada/Vernon County Area Chamber of Commerce Veterans Day Parade, coordinated by Pat Arnold of Pat's Designs and her husband Frank, will begin at the Community Center location and travel around three sides of the Historic Square, ending at the Courthouse Veterans' Mounument. In a brief conversation, Frank Arnold revealed his excitement about the parade, proudly announcing that he and his wife will be pulling 11 World War II troops by pickup. More than 30 other entries, will be featuring displays in proud commemoration of U.S. military veterans. Any veteran who would like to participate in the parade, but do not have a float on which to ride should check in at the pre-registration table at the Franklin P. Norman City/County Community Center. New registration for parade entries will be taken up to 1:30 p.m. on Friday. Following the parade, a brief memmorial service will take place at the courthouse Square.

After the service, all veterans and their families may go to the Nevada Elks Lodge for a Veterans' Day dinner the Elks say they're hosting as a "token of appreciation for the service of our military." Veterans and familiy members who plan to attend the dinner should contact the Elks Lodge at (417)667-7571.

In Walker, Mo., Northeast Vernon County High School will be hosting the district's annual Veterans Day Program. This program will begin on Nov. 11, at 1 p.m., and will be followed by a reception for the veterans and their families.

Open to the public.