Wreaths used to honor veterans in Orland

Orland's second Wreaths Across America ceremony is set for Saturday morning.

The Odd Fellows Cemetery on County Road P will be the setting for the event to begin at 9 a.m.

Organizer Dottie Tefelski said more than 500 wreaths have been sold to be placed on veterans' graves around Orland and Glenn County.

She added seven ceremonial wreaths will be placed to remember those who served and honor their sacrifices.

Also scheduled is a jet fly-over by a pilot from Travis Air Force Base near Sacramento - planned for 9 just before the ceremony gets underway, Tefelski said.

She said volunteers plan to put the wreaths on veterans' graves at cemeteries surrounding Orland on Friday.

The Odd Fellows veterans' section will have its wreaths put down by the Orland Volunteer Fire Department and others on Saturday, Tefelski said.

"Anyone is welcome to do that," she said, of the wreath laying as many people purchased wreaths for loved ones.

The ceremony is to take place rain or shine, Tefelski said, with pop-up canopies put up to cover people if it rains.

Specially designed wreaths for the US Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, Merchant Marines and POW/MIAs will be placed at the memorial in the ceremony coordinated simultaneously with more than 400 participating locations across the United States, officials said.

The third Saturday in December marks the 22nd anniversary of Maine wreaths being donated and placed on headstones at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

National organizers also say 2012 is the 9th year of the national wreath sponsorship campaign under the guidance of non-profit national and state veterans cemeteries, monuments and community centers across the nation.

Tefelski started the event last year because she believed Orland deserved to participate in the program, she said.

The wreaths come from Maine and are decorated with red bows in time for the Christmas season.

For more information, call 865-5047.