Serviceman Back Home At School in Vernon Just In Time For Veterans Day

VERNON, CT — The Veterans Day observance at Vernon's Maple Street School Friday was a little more meaningful this year.

Just ask Tyler Lesniak. The 32-year-old Vernon native and Air Force Reserve technical sergeant grew up in Vernon, went to Maple Street and pointed out his old home room Friday. His daughter, fourth-grader Brianna Ruotolo, now attends Maple Street. Just last Saturday, he returned from a tour in Saudi Arabia, where he was working with the 439th Logistics Readiness Squadron from Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts.

He said he was glad to be back home after personally moving 472,000 pounds of cargo and working 24-hour unit shifts.

He'll soon be back at his local job — delivering cargo with Kelly Fradet lumber, but on Friday he was there for a special program at his former school. The students at Maple Street have again won the annual Superintendent's Challenge by creating the most hand-made cards for local veterans to mark Veterans Day. Maple Street students created 251 cards, the most per capita in the district, a figure the amounts to 98 percent f the kids, principal Joshua Egan said.

In total, Vernon students created 1,449 cards for veterans. For several years, Vernon Superintendent Joseph Macary has issued the challenge to students to create cards to honor veterans. The cards are distributed through local organizations at the Veterans Home and Hospital in Rocky Hill.

"Helping our students develop an understanding of Veterans Day and an appreciation of the service of our
veterans is important," Macary said. "The students at Maple Street School have done a great job over the past several years and I am looking forward to congratulating them.”

Macary was joined by other veterans — like Vernon Mayor Daniel Champagne — to honor the students and re-issue the trophy that Maple Street has won for there straight years,

Veterans Day falls on Nov. 11 and marks the armistice that ended World War I on that day in 1918. The holiday, initially called Armistice Day, was created in 1919.

Vernon schools are in session on Veterans Day because it's the best way to honor and lean about veterans, Macary said.

The holiday was officially renamed Veterans Day in 1954 and schools were closed on the national holiday. In 1995, the Legislature changed the law to allow Connecticut schools to be in session on Veterans Day if there were programs about veterans. Vernon has opted to be open on Veterans Day for several years.

Lesniak said it works.

"The cards make a difference to someone serving overseas," he said. "We get cards from the students and it helps us with mental priority. The cards show us that the people at home care."