![Adding a tray of canned corn to the pile, junior Michael Collop assists in transporting donations for the Holiday Food Drive. The event, hosted schoolwide from Dec. 10-17, raised over 5,000 food items to deliver to the Parkway Food Pantry, helping several families in need. [The drive] is a great thing for us to do because you're giving to those who are less fortunate, and it helps provide for people who can't provide for themselves. [The] competition is always fun, too. It was fun to be in [social studies teacher Jess] Chazen’s class, because he always gets worked up over [the competition]. He made it exciting, and was always convincing us to turn in cans for the drive,” Collop said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/feature-photo-unsung-2.png)
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
The Stories Behind The Banners: An Eagle Eye Veterans Day Project
Ellie Oakes
The Eagle Eye profiled six veterans memorialized on banners in downtown Tyrone to create a virtual walking tour of their stories. The project is ongoing and other families are encouraged to participate.
November 17, 2021
Visitors to downtown Tyrone have probably noticed the dapper new banners hanging from the light posts that line both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue and West 10th Street.
The banners honor local veterans from World War I to those currently serving. They are a project spearheaded by Ed and Tracey Krider of the Tyrone Improvement Group.
The civic group began offering the banners in the summer and the response from the community was overwhelming. There are currently 145 banners hanging in downtown Tyrone, each honoring a local veteran.
“We love how nice they look and how respectful it was for the town to show their appreciation for their veterans,” said Tyrone Improvement Group member Cherryie Wisyanski.
When Tyrone Area High School teacher and Eagle Eye advisor Todd Cammarata saw them, he asked the Eagle Eye staff to use their talent to bring deeper meaning to the banners.
Brian Igou of the Tyrone Improvement Group helped to identify several families willing to do interviews with the Eagle Eye writers about the veterans honored on the banners.
What makes this project unique is the creative use of QR codes, which allows anyone walking past the banners to instantly connect to the stories.
“All you have to do is point your smartphone camera at the QR code posted on the light pole and it will automatically open a page on the Eagle Eye where you can learn the story of that veteran,” said Cammarata.
This fall Eagle Eye students wrote six stories. They then placed posters on the light poles under each veteran’s banner for Veterans Day.
“We hope that many people will access these stories at the Veterans Day Parade and over this weekend,” said Cammarata, “These six stories are just the beginning. We want to make this an ongoing project and see how many veterans stories we can tell over the next several years.”
Each poster has two QR codes, one that links to the veteran’s story, and another that links to an online form where families can request a story from the Eagle Eye.
The six banners with stories are located in the following areas (click on each name below to view their banner and read about their story):
- William Fink – in front of Caterpillar Daycare
- William Charles McGovern – in front of the Antique Store
- Kiley Williams – by the HR Block office
- Richard Searer – in front of Searer Funeral Home
- Edwin Igou – in front of Kelly Wike Insurance
- Noah Irvin – in front of Paul’s Amoco station
The students chose local veterans from a wide range of eras: three from World War II, one from the Vietnam Era, one from the 2010s, and another who just entered the service in 2019.
“I am very honored to have been able to write one of the veteran’s stories. I learned a lot about how much they really sacrificed for our country and I now have a much deeper appreciation for them,” said Eagle Eye Sports Editor Stephanie Ramsey, who wrote a profile of World War II veteran Edwin Igou.
The students and members of the Tyrone Improvement Group hope that the project will encourage members of the community to learn more about the rich history of Tyrone.
“I hope that [members of the community] will be excited when they learn about their families and other families. They just don’t realize how much history there is in our town. Tyrone is just a great place, with people who care about each other and other families,” said Wisyanski.
As well as connecting with fellow community members, they also hope that learning about others will encourage them to start asking questions about their own family history.
“When I was approached about doing [a story] for [my pap], I didn’t really know anything about his time in the service. I didn’t know that he was awarded a Purple Heart, and I wouldn’t have known that if I wouldn’t have started asking questions,” said Tyrone Improvement Group member Billie Jo Friday.
The banners will only be up until the end of Veterans Day weekend. On Sunday they will be taken down for the Christmas season, but most will be rehung in the spring.
The Eagle Eye students and members of the Tyrone Improvement Group both hope that when they are rehung, there will be lots of new stories for visitors to Tyrone’s downtown to discover.
“Our ultimate goal is to have the downtown area thriving again, and getting people down here walking around,” said Friday.
To request a story for an existing banner, click HERE and fill out the online form.
To read each veteran’s story, click on the individual photos below:
This story was originally published on Tyrone Eagle Eye News on November 10, 2021.
