Display honors Sisters soldiers

There's a new opportunity to honor Sisters' hometown soldiers and it's located at Bank of the Cascades on Main Avenue.

Branch manager Joy Caswell and her staff have erected a board that sits near the end of the tellers' desks and it has pictures and contact information of active duty soldiers with ties to Sisters. The pictures with yellow ribbons are of soldiers now serving on foreign soil. Those who are at their home duty stations have red, white and blue ribbons.

"It's important to be able to recognize how many in Sisters are serving," Caswell said.

She added that anyone is welcome to bring in contact information for a loved one who is in the military.

She got the idea after her son, Tyrel, had done a tour of duty in Iraq with his Army Reserve unit. At the age of 18, he faced the horror of having his best buddy die in his arms. A few months later, Tyrel was injured when his vehicle was hit in an explosion. He survived his injuries, but the experience made his mother realize the extreme price that soldiers pay when they serve under the United States flag.

"I think it hits home, once you've had someone serving, how much the flag really means," she said.

She's followed up that revelation by flying a flag outside the Bank of the Cascades, every day. A yellow ribbon tied to a pillar is a reminder that there are sons, daughters, and neighbors serving overseas.

Caswell said the public is welcome to view the board and contact those who are on it. It means a great deal to those men and women to have friends and neighbors from their home town send a card or e-mail. And it means just as much to have support from those they don't know.