Flags to be flown at half staff

Flags in Beatrice will be flown at half staff on Friday, Nov. 11, in memory of solider Darren Howe of Beatrice.

Also on Friday, the Beatrice Chamber of Commerce is encouraging the community to gather along the funeral procession route to pay their respects.

Howe, a 2003 Beatrice High School graduate died last Thursday at Brooke Army Medical Center Fort Sam Huston in San Antonio, Texas. He was the driver of a Bradley personnel carrier that burst into flames after hitting a roadside bomb in Iraq on Oct. 17.

Funeral services are planned for 11 a.m. Friday at St. John Lutheran Church.

The funeral procession will travel south on Sixth Street to the intersection of Court Street, when it will turn east to Evergreen Home Cemetary.

Beatrice Mayor Dennis Schuster signed a proclamation Tuesday, under authority granted by the governor, authorizing the U.S. flag as well as other flags within the city of Beatrice, in all public displays, be flown at half staff.

The proclamation states that the “citizens of Beatrice wish to show their respect and gratitude for the sacrifice that he made for his country and our deepest sympathies to his family and friends that he left behind.”