ROCHELLE –– Veterans Day is a day to honor and thank those who gave of their time to serve our country. To acknowledge those who served and allow students an opportunity to learn what Veterans Day is really about local schools will host assemblies and guest speakers on Friday, Nov. 10.
RTHS
Rochelle Township High School will host a Veterans Day Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Friday.
Superintendent Jason Harper and Rochelle Mayor Chet Olson will speak at the breakfast.
RTHS Hub Band will  perform a Salute to America’s finest acknowledging all branches of the military. Veterans traditionally stand in salute as their song is played.
Veterans are invited to attend and can park in the West lot and enter Door 17, which faces the stadium. For those with accessibility issues, park in front and enter Door 1.
St. Paul Lutheran
St. Paul Lutheran School will host a student led Veterans Day chapel service from 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Robert Chadwick will be the guest speaker. The service is open to the community with a time for refreshment and fellowship for veterans following the service.
Rochelle Middle School
Rochelle Middle School will host a Veterans Day ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Friday in the north gym. Mark Schabacker from the VFW will be the guest speaker and WRHL will broadcast the assembly live. Weather permitting, a local vet will do a fly over toward the end of the ceremony.

Kings School
Veterans are invited to join the students at Kings School for a short program at 11 a.m. Friday. They are then welcome to enjoy a Thanksgiving lunch with students. To reserve a turkey dinner, call the school at 815-562-7191 by Friday morning.
Creston
Students at Creston Elementary School are participating in several events to commemorate Veterans Day. Recently, students partook in a Veterans Day themed art project and signs were placed around town. Fifth grade students also wrote letters to veterans thanking them for their service. On Thursday, Nov. 9 Builder’s Club students in sixth through eighth grade will work alongside veterans to clean Woodlawn Cemetery.
On Monday, Nov. 13 local veteran, Lyle Headon, will present at an assembly for all students at Creston School at 8:45 a.m.
“We look forward to the opportunity to celebrate our country and honor our veterans,” stated Emily Erickson-Betz, director of Education at Creston School.
Museum exhibit opens
An exhibit honoring veterans opens Saturday at the Flagg Township Museum.
An opening reception for We Went to War will be held from noon to 4 p.m. in the museum at Fourth Avenue and Sixth Street in downtown Rochelle.
Local residents and area veterans are invited to view this tribute in the newly revised War Room.  There will also be a temporary exhibit in the Cabinet of Curiosities highlighting Rochelle’s  military commitment.
There will also be a curator talk at 2 p.m.  Rerefreshments will also be served.

Brick engraving completed

On Nov. 7, engraving of all bricks that had been ordered since September 2016 was completed at the Rochelle Veterans War Memorial.
Thirty-one bricks were engraved with the name of a veteran or the name of a military unit in time for Veteran’s Day.
Once the brick order forms are received by the Memorial Committee, they are converted to .pdf format and sent to the engraver. The engraver then makes a stencil, and on the day of engraving, tapes them to a brick. Once the stencil has been taped to the brick, it is sand blasted forming the engraved letters in the brick.
The stencil can resist the sand blasting in the areas that require protection while allowing the sand blasting to erode away the exposed brick material, forming the letters.
After sandblasting, a weather resistant paint is applied. After the paint dries, the stencil is removed, resulting in the final engraved brick.  
For those who have purchased a brick prior to October 2017, your brick is now ready for viewing. A reference list in alphabetical order by last name, showing each brick location, is posted in the display box at the north end of the memorial.
The Rochelle Veterans War Memorial Association receives brick orders throughout the year, and if sufficient orders are received by mid-September, the bricks are engraved in the fall in time for Veterans Day.
Brick order forms can be obtained at the Rochelle  VFW or online through the City of Rochelle website at www.cityofrochelle.net.