Town of Niagara Lion's Club to honor hometown heroes

At a recent Niagara County municipal historians meeting, Middleport historian Christa Lutz discussed her participation in the national Hometown Heroes program. The program honors veterans of the U.S. military by displaying a picture of them on a banner along with their name, rank, branch of service and dates served.

Town of Niagara Historian Pete Ames said that was a great way to honor the veterans from the Town of Niagara, so he went about gathering the information to move forward with it. He then joined forces with veteran Tom Tierney, his wife Nancy, and Judge John Teixeira to help bring this program to the Town of Niagara for 2021.

The banners are 18-by-36 inches, made of heavy-duty vinyl, and will feature the veteran’s photo and information on both sides. The cost for the banner with attaching hardware is $150, which also includes shipping. Banners can be sponsored by family members, friends or an organization. Donations can also be made in any amount toward a veteran of the committee’s choosing.

To be eligible, honored service men and women must:

√ Have resided within the village limits of Town of Niagara, presently or at some time in their lifetime;

√ Have served or are serving in the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Guard, Marines or Navy; and

√ Either be presently serving, honorably discharged, MIA, or died in the line of duty.

Banners will be placed on poles throughout Veterans Park, Military Road, and other main routes through the Town of Niagara. Placement will be random and organizers cannot honor requests for locations.

The banners will hang from Memorial Day through Veteran’s Day and then be stored for safekeeping by the Parks Department, to be hung again the following year.

Each banner is the property of the family and can be returned to them if requested at the end of the season, but will not be rehung again the next year if the family takes it.

Applications will be accepted through Dec. 31, or when the maximum number of 50 has been ordered.

For more information about the program, or to obtain an application, contact Tom Tierney at 716-297-9109.