The Mid-Columbia is honoring veterans in a variety of ways. The following is a list of events today and Saturday:
Prosser parade
-- Today: The seventh annual Prosser Thank You Vets Parade is at 11 a.m. All are invited to join the parade. Lineup begins at 10:15 a.m. near Keene-Riverview School and follows the traditional States Day route.
Veterans, organizations, youth groups, family and friends of current or former military are welcome to participate.
For more information, call Deb at 509-778-1820 or 1944 or the Prosser chamber at 509-786-3177.
Veterans Day breakfasts
-- Today: The sixth annual Veterans Day Breakfast is at 7 a.m. at the Richland Rehab Center and Eagle Assisted Living.
Veterans and their spouses are invited. Biscuits and gravy, sausage and eggs will be served.
Richland Rehab Center and Eagle Assisted Living is at 1745 Pike Ave.
-- Today: The Hermiston Chamber of Commerce is having a Veterans Day breakfast at 8 a.m. at the Hermiston Conference Center, 415 S. Highway 395. It is free to all veterans and their families.
All veterans and family members should RSVP to the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce at 541-567-6151.
Donations for veterans
Columbia Basin College students and the Columbia Basin Veterans Coalition need donations to stock the veteran transition home, The Wagenaar-Pfister Transitional House.
Requested items include sponges, light bulbs, toothpaste, razors, coffee and tea, and other household goods.
Drop-off locations are Columbia Basin College and the Columbia Basin Veterans Coalition, 1600 N. 20th, Pasco.
Appreciation dinner
-- Today: Tri-Cities Elks Lodge #2755 will play host to a Veterans' Appreciation Dinner at 15 S. Colorado St., Kennewick. A free spaghetti dinner will be served to veterans. Cost for spouses and guests is $8. Doors open at 4 p.m., dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m. with a program to follow.
Guests this year include the Washington State University Veterans Club and Vincent DeLiso, a World War II veteran and prisoner of war in Germany.
Friends and other area veterans are welcome -- you do not need to be a member of the Elks to attend. Seating is limited, so RSVP by contacting the Tri-Cities Lodge office at 735-6035, or email elks2755@frontier.com.
WSU Tri-Cities
-- Today: Veterans Club Association and Support members and the Washington State University Tri-Cities Office of Veterans Affairs are taking part in the National Roll Call. This reading of the names of all military personnel lost in Iraq and Afghanistan starts at 11 a.m. at the Veterans Monument site at WSU Tri-Cities (outside the East Building, at the corner of Crimson Way and Sprout Road). The event is expected to last up to six hours. The WSU Tri-Cities campus is closed today in observance of Veterans Day, so access to amenities is limited. WSU Tri-Cities is at 2710 Crimson Way, Richland.
-- Saturday: The Veterans Ball planned for Saturday at Terra Blanca Winery has been postponed to Feb. 11, 2012.
Tickets that already have been purchased will be honored for the February event, which is sponsored by the Veterans Club Association and Support student organization and the Associated Students of Washington State University Tri-Cities. For more information, contact the VCAS at veterans@tricity.wsu.edu.
Book signing
-- Saturday: Gary A. Fisher of Richland, who served in the Air Force and in the Navy and Army reserves, will be signing copies of the 183-page book he edited which features his cousin's World War II diary, At the Closing of a Day: The Diary of Sgt. Merle Alan Fisher Company B, 1st Amphibious Tractor Battalion, 1st Marine Division 1942-1944.
Fisher will bring the original diary and photographs to the event, which is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Ragtime Antiques Mall in the Uptown Shopping Center at 1331 George Washington Way, Richland. Copies of the book will be available for sale for $18. Books ande-editions also are available at Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.
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