Memorial Day

The University of Wyoming has announced that most UW offices will be closed and summer classes dismissed for Memorial Day.

On Monday, the public is invited to a Memorial Day Service, sponsored by the American Legion Post 14 & Legion Auxiliary and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2221 & Auxiliary. There will be a number of events roaming about the Laramie community on Monday morning, but it all begins 8 AM at the Harmony Gardens on Highway 230. At the...

Memorial Day, and this weekend has come to mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people in our nation. The day itself was originally known as “Decoration Day” and originated after the American Civil War in 1868. It’s celebrated on the last Monday in May and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many think of the Memorial Day weekend as a time to reflect on patriotism and honor fallen heroes who sacrificed their lives in service to our country. Others view it as a time to relax or getaway, as an “unofficial” start to summer.

In contrast to recent years, a good number of open campgrounds and Forest roads will greet visitors to the Medicine Bow National Forest this Memorial Day weekend. Preparations have been in full swing to ready areas for the holiday crowds and some recreation sites on the Brush Creek/Hayden, Douglas and Laramie Ranger Districts are open for the season. In certain cases, visitors will be welcomed back to sites that have seen significant work or have even been closed as a result of hazard trees from the beetle epidemic that swept across Western forests over the last decade.

The "May Mobilization" by Wyoming Highway Patrol Troopers led to a fatality free weekend on Wyoming highways for the first time since 2006. A statewide message about the importance of seat belt and child restraint use was enforced by Troopers and leading the way were Troopers from District #1, Division 'H', in Rawlins, who received an award from Safety & Training Sergeant Duan Ellis.

For the first time since 2006, the Wyoming Highway Patrol says it did not investigate one fatal crash over the Memorial Day Holiday period after many Wyoming law enforcement agencies participated in the nationwide May Mobilization and the Wyoming "Click It. Don't Risk It" campaign. It is a united effort to reduce the number of unrestrained fatalities and injuries associated with vehicle

I have to be honest, I've never been to a ceremony on Memorial Day. I've never laid flowers on a grave either. Basically, the traditional observance of Memorial Day is something I've never done. However there are two veterans who are always on my mind, my grandfathers.

Monday, May 30, 2011 Sponsored by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2221 and Auxiliary American Legion Husted-Pendleton Post 14 and Auxiliary