LEONI TWP., MI – East Jackson Community Schools' memorial to World War II veterans has a new home.
The memorial board was recently mounted near the East Jackson Secondary School cafeteria after previously being located at Memorial Elementary School on Dettman Road, which no longer is used for regular classes and is up for sale.
A re-dedication during the East Jackson School Board meeting on Monday, Oct. 12 marked the board's new location.
"The World War II plaque contains the names of all the East Jackson students who served during World War II," said Bob Wilkinson, a Vietnam veteran and former East Jackson employee who moderated the ceremony. "There were 290 killed in Jackson County, and 10 of those were from East Jackson."
The memorial board originally was located in the old high school at the corner of Dettman Road and Michigan Avenue, which later became a middle school, Wilkinson said. When the building was demolished, it was relocated to Memorial Elementary School.
During the ceremony, the district also dedicated a new plaque adjacent to the World War II board to commemorate four former East Jackson students who died while serving in the Vietnam War.
"There were 54 killed from Jackson County in the Vietnam War," said Wilkinson, who is president of the local Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 109. "Four of our brothers from East Jackson were killed in Vietnam: Thomas Keirns, Paul Potter, Roger Wooster and Charles Plumb."
More than a dozen veterans from Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 109 took turns, two-by-two, paying a final salute to the fallen veterans.
The re-dedication was followed by a final roll call, and then a 21-gun salute in front of the secondary school. Vietnam veteran Dave McCave played "Taps" to conclude the ceremonies.
Relatives of the departed veterans were able to take home brass from the 21-gun salute in remembrance of the event.
In other business Monday, the board:
• Voted to approve layoffs, effective Oct. 26, of full-time custodian Chad Wilson and full-time bus driver Doyle Rice. Superintendent Pat Little said the layoffs are in response to the district's recent student count numbers, which came in 14 below the district's original projection of 1,100 students for 2015-16. "As we start to plan to make up that budget gap, we need to assess every position and every group," Little said. He said no other cuts are likely this semester, but more layoffs are possible later in the school year.
• French teacher Ben Muto and several students told the board about a planned 10-day trip to Europe next June. Seven students and four chaperones will make the trip, which will begin in Paris and end in Rome. The students and their families are responsible for funding the trip, which will cost $4,500 per person, Muto said.
• Learned that East Jackson is one of four schools in the state to earn the Set Seg Safety Award from the district's insurance company. "Your district has been safe, you have a good staff, and your schools are always clean," said Mike Grosso, loss control consultant from Set Seg, who made the presentation.
The memorial board was recently mounted near the East Jackson Secondary School cafeteria after previously being located at Memorial Elementary School on Dettman Road, which no longer is used for regular classes and is up for sale.
A re-dedication during the East Jackson School Board meeting on Monday, Oct. 12 marked the board's new location.
"The World War II plaque contains the names of all the East Jackson students who served during World War II," said Bob Wilkinson, a Vietnam veteran and former East Jackson employee who moderated the ceremony. "There were 290 killed in Jackson County, and 10 of those were from East Jackson."
The memorial board originally was located in the old high school at the corner of Dettman Road and Michigan Avenue, which later became a middle school, Wilkinson said. When the building was demolished, it was relocated to Memorial Elementary School.
During the ceremony, the district also dedicated a new plaque adjacent to the World War II board to commemorate four former East Jackson students who died while serving in the Vietnam War.
"There were 54 killed from Jackson County in the Vietnam War," said Wilkinson, who is president of the local Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 109. "Four of our brothers from East Jackson were killed in Vietnam: Thomas Keirns, Paul Potter, Roger Wooster and Charles Plumb."
More than a dozen veterans from Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 109 took turns, two-by-two, paying a final salute to the fallen veterans.
The re-dedication was followed by a final roll call, and then a 21-gun salute in front of the secondary school. Vietnam veteran Dave McCave played "Taps" to conclude the ceremonies.
Relatives of the departed veterans were able to take home brass from the 21-gun salute in remembrance of the event.
In other business Monday, the board:
• Voted to approve layoffs, effective Oct. 26, of full-time custodian Chad Wilson and full-time bus driver Doyle Rice. Superintendent Pat Little said the layoffs are in response to the district's recent student count numbers, which came in 14 below the district's original projection of 1,100 students for 2015-16. "As we start to plan to make up that budget gap, we need to assess every position and every group," Little said. He said no other cuts are likely this semester, but more layoffs are possible later in the school year.
• French teacher Ben Muto and several students told the board about a planned 10-day trip to Europe next June. Seven students and four chaperones will make the trip, which will begin in Paris and end in Rome. The students and their families are responsible for funding the trip, which will cost $4,500 per person, Muto said.
• Learned that East Jackson is one of four schools in the state to earn the Set Seg Safety Award from the district's insurance company. "Your district has been safe, you have a good staff, and your schools are always clean," said Mike Grosso, loss control consultant from Set Seg, who made the presentation.
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