Rally slated for Sunday

<a href=www.zwire.com>Echoes Sentinel By VINCENT PATERNO , Editor 04/24/2003

LONG HILL TWP. - A rally to support American troops in the Middle East will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. Sunday, April 27 in front of the township library on Central Avenue, Stirling.

The event's organizer, Nila Chejlyk of Valley Road, Stirling, said it is being held for area residents "to show appreciation for our military" after it and coalition forces ousted Saddam Hussein and his supporters from power in Iraq and is now aiding the Iraqis' transition to a democratic society.

Several guest speakers are planned, she said. One of them will be Dawn Wolfe, the Board of Adjustment and Planning Board secretary, whose son, Justin M. Kuhns, is an Air Force staff sergeant serving in Iraq. Mayor Suzanne Dapkins will also speak, Chejlyk said.

"This is just our way to show our armed forces how much we love them," she said.

Frelinghuysen Invited

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-11, has been invited, Chejlyk said, and patriotic music will be played. Boy Scout troops from the area have been invited to attend, she added.

About 1,200 small American flags are to be given out, she said, adding, "Hopefully there will be 1,200 attending." Any surplus may be held over and distributed at the township's Memorial Day parade Monday, May 26, she noted.

Chejlyk said James Angelo of American Legion Post 484 in Stirling is assisting with the rally. She added it has been promoted by Curtis Sliwa on his WABC radio program, and is also featured on several township Web sites, including the Rescue Squad.

Chejlyk, who said her parents were born in Ukraine, was herself born in Venezuela, where her parents emigrated after World War II. However, when she was nine months old the family relocated to the U.S.