Afton
The Afton Memorial Day parade will line up at 10 a.m. Monday at the corner of Main Street and Pleasant Avenue. The parade will proceed down Main Street to the bridge overlooking the Susquehanna River for a short program, then continue to Foster Park for the ceremony.
In case of inclement weather, ceremony will be held at the Afton Central School auditorium.
The master of ceremonies will be Mayor Sally Muller, and the speaker will be Matthew Mercilliott. The clergy will be Pastor Maryann Palmetier of the Hope Congregational Church of Afton.
Bainbridge
Memorial Day services and parade will be held in Bainbridge on Monday. The parade will form at the Greenlawn Elementary School at 10 a.m. Services will begin at the cemetery at 10:15, with the parade starting at 10:30.
The parade marshal will be Richard J. Rusakiewicz, retired Master Sergeant of the U.S. Air Force.
The parade will travel down Greenlawn Avenue, Freiot Avenue, North Main Street, Front Street and East Main Street. Veterans will proceed to the River Bridge for services. All other units will continue to the area around the Village Green where ceremonies will be held.
The Master of Ceremonies will be American Legion Post 806 member Roger Barnhart of the U.S. Marine Corps. The invocation will be held by the American Legion Post 806 Chaplain Doug Blakelock.
Bainbridge-Guilford High School Chorus members Megan Hartwell, Bethany Shaw and Emma Ives will sing "God Bless America." James D. B. O'Hara, Bainbridge-Guilford salutatorian, will recite the Gettysburg Address. Recital of "In Flanders Fields" by Chloe A. McElligott, Bainbridge-Guilford valedictorian, will recite "In Flanders Fields." Guest speaker will be U.S. Army veteran Steve Anderson.
Taps will be played by the Bainbridge-Guilford band members. Blakelock will give the benediction. Area veterans and Boy Scouts of Troop 52 will raise the colors, and the Bainbridge-Guilford brass ensemble will perform the national anthem.
Norwich
The Lt. Warren E. Eaton, DSC, American Legion Post 189 of Norwich will present Memorial Day events on Monday.
From 9:30 to 9:45 a.m., participants in the Memorial Day parade will line up at the VFW at 61 East Main St. The parade will begin at 10, traveling west on East and West Main streets, to the West Side Park, where ceremonies will continue in front of the World War II Monument.
Master of ceremonies will be Frank Revoir, Past Commander of the Legion Post. Revoir will introduce guest speaker Joseph G. Angelino, chief of police for the city of Norwich, who was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985 through 2008 and served three combat tours in the Middle East.
The national anthem will be sung by the Norwich High School chorus, and the "echo" taps will be be played by buglers from the NHS band.
AFter the ceremonies, honor guards from the Legion and VFW will conduct military services at the Mount Hope and St. Paul's cemeteries for local veterans buried there. A wreath will be placed in the Canasawacta Creek in memory of those lost at sea.
The American Legion will host refreshments at its facility at 29 Sheldon St. The Legion will also conduct appropriate disposal of unserviceable American and state flags.
Oxford
The Oxford American Legion's Fort Hill Post will begin the day at 8 a.m. with a wreath-laying ceremony and rifle salute at St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery on West State Street.
Parade participants will assemble at the lower parking lot of the Oxford Academy Middle School, located on the east side of the Chenango River, at 9 a.m. Stepping off at 9:30, the parade will march up the east side of Fort Hill Park to the Chenango River to hold the salute to honor those who died at sea. Oxford Legion's Auxiliary president, Sylvia Witchella, will perform the wreath ceremony, followed by a rifle salute.
The parade will travel on Main Street and Albany Street to Riverview Cemetery, where a ceremony and speeches will honor the war dead. The ceremony will include a rifle salute, various readings, and patriotic music. The principle address will be presented by Chenango County District Attorney Joseph A. McBride.
Following the ceremony, Legion members will visit the New York State Veterans Home for a memorial service at 11 a.m.
At noon, the color guard will visit Warn Ten Broeck Cemetery to place a wreath and salute the deceased.
For information, contact Post Commander Ron Blanford at 843-2275 or nanamb@frontiernet.net.
South New Berlin
The Harold McIntyre American Legion No. 1289 wll present Memorial Day events and a parade on Monday.
The program will begin at 11 a.m. at the South New Berlin Firehouse, with parade lineup at about 11:45 a.m. Starting at the firehouse, the parade will proceed south on state Route 8, stopping at the American Legion Post at the four corners, and proceeding south to the Riverside Cemetery.
Parade marshals will be "Doc" DeBoer and Dan Fairchild. Master of ceremonies will be Chief Petty Officer Samuel Gainfort, retired from the U.S. Navy. Guest speaker will be Col. Edward Downey, retired from the U.S. Army.
Music will be provided by the Unadilla Valley Central School band, with vocal music selections by the Holmesville Men's Ensemble and Susan Barry. Unadilla Valley student Daniel Twang will read the Gettysburg Address, and student Andrew Stalker will play taps. Kindergarten students Angel Witkowsky and Ivan Izard will lay a memorial wreath. A short service, military honors and final prayers will be held at the Riverside Cemetery.
Dinners will follow at the First Baptist Church and the South New Berlin Fire Department.
