Memorial Day events planned
By Staff Reports
Published in News on May 24, 2015 1:50 AM
Memorial Day ceremonies will be held this afternoon in Mount Olive and Monday morning and afternoon in Goldsboro.
The Wayne County Veterans and Patriots Coalition will sponsor the Goldsboro observances. The Mount Olive event is sponsored by VFW Post 9959 and American Legion Post 103.
Marine Corps League chaplain Bill Boyd of Goldsboro will be the speaker for the Mount Olive ceremony today at 3 p.m. at the town's Veterans Memorial at the intersection of West Main and North Chestnut streets.
Refreshments will be served in the adjacent old train depot.
The Rev. John Harrington and Post 103 Commander Zoe Mossberg will conduct a Post Everlasting ceremony remembering members who have died during the past year.
The ceremony is a symbolic transfer of the veteran's membership from the post to Post Everlasting, which is considered heaven.
The Mar-Mac Fire Department Honor Guard will conduct a wreath-laying ceremony and will lower the flag to half staff.
Taps will be played by Cindy Grant, Southern Wayne High School band director.
Col. Andrew Bernard, 4th Fighter Wing Vice commander at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, will be the speaker at the Monday morning ceremony at 11 a.m. at Moffatt Auditorium on the Wayne Community College campus.
The Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Honor Guard will present the colors, and several videos relating to Memorial Day will be shown.
Melissa Watkins, a retired Air Force major who lost her husband in Iraq, is the Gold Star representative this year.
The afternoon observance will take place at the Wayne County Veterans Memorial, 224 E. Walnut St. where the 3 p.m. national Moment of Silence will be recognized by the sounding of taps.
Mrs. Watkins and her son and daughter will be placing the wreath during both ceremonies.
As a reminder, county schools, local, state and federal offices, banks and the post office will be closed Monday in observance of the holiday.
Town halls will be closed Monday in Goldsboro, Mount Olive, Eureka, Fremont, Pikeville, Walnut Creek and Seven Springs.
In Goldsboro, sanitation services for Monday will be moved to Wednesday.
The Mount Olive recyclable center be closed as well.
Household garbage pickup will not be affected. However, yard waste collection will be delayed by a day. Monday's route will be picked up on Tuesday and Tuesday's route on Wednesday.
In Fremont, Monday's garbage route will be moved to Tuesday.
Carolina Southern Sanitation's services will not be affected by the holiday and will operate on a normal schedule.