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May 6, 2016
thevalleyadvantage.com
A Fitting Memorial
ON THE INSIDE The latest happenings in our area Page 2
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Dickson City plans a tribute to service men and women by Christopher Cornell
ADVANTAGE EDITOR
Dickson City’s Christmas Lights and Decorative Banner Committee is branching out to other holidays, and it has a plan to honor the borough’s service men and women, past and present. Its newest project is the “Hometown Heroes” banner program. Each individual banner will be unique and honor a specific Dickson City-area service man or woman and will include their branch of service, era of service, and their picture (if available). “We are extremely proud of our residents who have served and those that are currently serving our great nation,” said Jeff Kovaleski, a member of the committee. The Hometown Heroes Banners cost $175 each and will be limited to the first 75 applications with payment. They won’t get here in time for Memorial Day this year but, “we’d like to put them up as soon as possible, and they will remain up through Veterans Day, after which we will have them replaced by the Christmas Banners,” Kovaleski explained. “In subsequent years, we plan to have them up for longer periods of time through both Memorial Day and Veterans Day holidays.” They will be on display for both Memorial Day (2017 to 2019) and Veterans Day (2016 to 2019); they will be 30 inches wide by 60 inches high and made of fabric material; they will be hung in Dickson City’s Main Street and Boulevard Avenue areas (placed on first-comefirst-served basis); and they will be available for review prior to printing, so the family of the honored person can make sure the committee has everything right. Businesses may also sponsor a banner. While a lot of what the committee does is fundraising, Kovaleski said the committee is keeping the price as low as possible. “While this is not a fundraising project, a small contingency fee has been incorporated to insure any banners that may be damaged by the weather or passing trucks can be repaired,” he said.
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Members of the committee, from left, front row: Ann Domski, Jerri Prushinski and Judy Rudzinski. Second row: Jack Horvath, Myron Glodek, Rich Byron and Jeffrey Kovaleski. Donna Sosik is also on the committee.
Any purchaser of a banner will be recognized in the “Hometown Hero” Program Book, to be distributed at the Dickson City Veterans Day Memorial Service, and will subsequently be available at the Dickson City Municipal Building. After the 2019 season, each banner will be returned to the purchaser for a keepsake Orders are being taken now and will only be taken for a short time. “We have a limited number of sites where the banners will be placed and therefore have set a deadline of June 30th for applications to be accepted,” Kovaleski added. Dickson City won’t be the first to try a project like this. “Our members started discussing doing patriotic banners almost at the inception of the committee in 2014,” Kovaleski recalled. “Several members had suggested flag banners, and then one of our members, while traveling in the Union County area, took pictures of
some of their banners in the fall of that year. Other members of our committee had commented on the banners from the Carbondale and Pittston areas. “At the end of 2015, we discussed incorporating these ideas into our own plans and developed our Dickson City Hometown Heroes campaign.” In the meantime, word is spreading. “Families who have heard about the Hometown Heroes program have been very positive,” he said. “We are in the process of contacting the veterans organizations in Dickson City and we expect that they will be very receptive to the project. They have been very supportive of our Christmas Light and Banner fundraising efforts over the past two years.” Applications are available at the Dickson City Municipal Building weekdays during business hours. You can also call 570-8813697 or email dclightsandbanners@gmail. com.