Tag Archives: Ilion Mayor John P. Stephens

Ilion Honors Vets

Posted on November 11, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Ilion has a proud tradition of service to the country in the armed forces, from the Civil War to the present time, Mayor John P. Stephens said at the Village of Ilion Veteran’s Ceremony Monday, Nov. 10. That tradition is recognized at the Town Hall Auditorium with the names of Ilion Veterans on the Memorial Wall, grouped by the conflicts in which they served. On Monday,  22 names were added to the Wall.

The high school students added gravity to the ceremony.

After Mayor Stephens’ welcome and introductions, the ceremony opened with the Presenting of the Colors by Central Valley (CVA) Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps and a rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” by the CVA Chamber Choir under the direction of Mark Bunce.

Mayor Stephens is very proud of Ilion’s tradition of service.         

The reading of the names was followed by a Choral Tribute to the Armed Services by the CVA Choir, a medley of tunes famously associated with each branch of service. 

They were awesome.

I was very impressed with the choir and the JROTC students.  The harmonies of the choir were incredible, and the military bearing of the soldiers was excellent.

Stephens concluded the ceremony by mentioning a number of village employees who had also served and again praising Ilion’s long tradition of service.

“If you see a vet, thank a vet,” he said.

 

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After Being Ill, Some Stuff About Ilion

Posted on April 10, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

OK, so I posted late for Monday on Tuesday then missed posting at all on Tuesday.  In my defense, I was feeling rather ill on Tuesday.  However, I have very little excuse for not making Tuesday’s post late in Wednesday morning.  Not no excuse, since I was sending stories to Sentinel Media which should have been sent on Tuesday.  Oh dear, I am doing very badly.

It was a delightful occasion.

This is part of what I was occupied with on Monday.  Ilion Village Board had a public meeting to present the next budget.  After that meeting, they had a short board meeting during which they officially appointed Andrew Monahan as Fire Chief.  He has been Acting Chief for some two years, so it was good that he became officially appointed.  Many members of his family turned out for the occasion.

Other firefighters.  I love firefighters.

A number of other firefighters also turned out to see their chief officially appointed.

Mayor John P. Stephens

Before the meeting, Ilion Village Board presented their budget for the 2025-26 year.  It was a very good budget, with less than 1% increase on village taxes.  I wrote an article about it for Sentinel Media.

I feel my submissions to Sentinel Media take precedence over my blog posts, but I will endeavor in the future the keep up to date on both.  As always, I thank you for staying tuned.

 

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Honoring Veterans

Posted on November 13, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Friday I attended a very nice  Veterans Event in Ilion, NY.  Names were being added to the wall in the Town Hall’s Veterans Memorial Auditorium.  I got there early and walked around looking at the large number of names, all residents of Ilion who had served in the armed forces.

Only part of the veterans honored.

The names are grouped by wars, and there is a section for peacetime veterans as well.  There is even a Civil War veteran on the back wall of the stage.

The oldest one.

 Ilion Mayor John P. Stephens welcomed a gathering of over 70 people, including veterans as well as their families and friends. After thanking all veterans, past and present for their service and reiterating how proud Ilion can be of how many of its residents have answered the call to service over the years, Mayor Stephens read the names to be added, asking any who were present to stand.

Mayor Stephens

 All those attending gave a warm ovation to these veterans. Stephens then asked any other veterans present to stand, and they were applauded as well.

 After the ceremony, many spent some time walking around the auditorium, reading names and taking pictures.  It was a short but heartfelt occasion.  I got into a conversation with one couple taking pictures of their son’s name.  I asked for a picture of them, and they graciously agreed.

They had good reason to be proud.

 

They were William K. Farrell and MaryAlice Farrell, pointing to their son, Michael J. Farrell, who was an army doctor in Afghanistan.  William is on the wall for Vietnam, where he served as a sergeant.
It was a heartfelt, solemn event, although there were a couple of lighter moments, such as when people took the chairs from the head table. Nobody wanted to be up there with Mayor Stephens!  Then when he read the names, for a while there was one veteran standing by himself.  Stephens remarked on it, and remarked when another veteran stood too.
I will just mention that I was invited to be there, because I have been covering Ilion Village Board meetings for The Sentinel.  I wrote a story, which I submitted.  But I also stood when the mayor asked all veterans to stand.  I felt honored.

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