Memorial Day ceremonies planned
Ceremonies throughout Kootenai County are planned on Monday in observance of Memorial Day.
Coeur d'Alene
Coeur d’Alene Veterans of Foreign Wars 889 will hold the bell ringing and wreath ceremony at 9 a.m. in the Veterans Plaza at McEuen Park and the Third Street docks. World War II veteran Bud Oakland will place the wreath in the lake.
At Forest Cemetery, 1011 N. Government Way, there will be a ceremony near the Civil War statue at 11 a.m. Veteran Bob Martin will speak.
VFW Post 889 will preside over a ceremony at 10 a.m. at St. Thomas cemetery on east Sherman Avenue.
Pappy Boyington Detachment 966 of the Marine Corps League’s ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. at Coeur d’Alene Memorial Gardens on north Government Way. Vietnam veteran Jim Smith will deliver the keynote remarks.
Post Falls
Post Falls American Legion Post 143, in cooperation with the city of Post Falls, will conduct ceremonies at Evergreen Cemetery at 10 a.m., with Post Falls City Councilor Kerri Rankin Thoreson speaking. Thoreson is also curator of the Ronald D. Rankin Veterans Memorial Plaza.
Legion Commander Dennis Wheeler will preside over the event, which will include remarks by Veteran Margaret Ogram, the St. Dominick's Choir, and the combined rifle/honor guard of Post 143 and Post 154 as well as the Post Falls Police Honor Guard. A potluck luncheon will be held at the American Legion following the program.
Hayden
There will be a wreath-laying ceremony and Tolling of the Boats at Honeysuckle Beach on Hayden Lake at 10 a.m. to honor those service men and women lost at sea. The ceremony will include a prayer, rifle salute and taps.
The boat launch will remain open during the ceremony.
The city of Hayden Veterans Council will host its annual ceremony at City Hall at 11 a.m. with speaker Dale Stamper, national president of Blinded Veterans Association.
It will also include presentation of colors by the U.S. Submarine Veterans, the national anthem sung by Veterans Commission Vice-Chair Dave Sheldon, placement of a memorial wreath, welcome by Mayor Steve Griffitts, the reading of new pavers, a bagpipe rendition of "Amazing Grace" and a rifle salute. The ceremony will conclude with taps and the retiring of colors.
Stamper is a pastor at Real Life Ministries and an Army and Vietnam veteran.
He was injured on Jan. 6, 1968, and as a result of his injuries from a landmine, he lost his sight. Shortly after returning home, he went to the Pentecostal Church of God Bible College at Livermore, Calif., and eventually into the ministry.
Government Way in Hayden will be closed from Orchard Avenue to Honeysuckle Avenue from 10:45 a.m. to noon for the ceremony. Roadways will be reopened immediately following the ceremony.
Rathdrum
The city of Rathdrum, Northwest Guardian Riders and the American Legion will host ceremonies at the Pinegrove Cemetery, 6693 W. Highway 53, at noon. American Legion Commander Dee Sasse will speak.