Several Veterans Day programs will be held in Newport and Cocke County in the coming days. All are open to the public.

On Saturday, November 10, between 9-11 a.m., Newport Church of God, located behind the old Dairy Queen, will distribute free gas cards to local veterans.

Piney Grove Baptist Church will host a Veterans Day program on Sunday, November 11, beginning at 9:30 a.m. All veterans and their families are invited as special guests. Dinner will follow the program with ample time for fellowship and storytelling with other veterans within the community. Rev. Bill Murr and congregation invite everyone to attend.

Newport Presbyterian Church, 399 Hedrick Drive (behind Cocke County High School) will also have a special program and speaker on Sunday, November 11. LTC Brian Maddox, former commander of the First Battalion 81st Armored Regiment, will speak at 9:30 a.m. Maddox, son of former Carson-Newman College President Cordell Maddox, served one year and four months in Kabul, Afghanistan, and is now slated to teach at West Point. All veterans in attendance will be recognized during the program, and a memorial will honor all deceased veterans. There will also be special music.

For more details, please see the latest edition of the Newport Plain Talk.