The 66-member team also relishes the chance to connect

The 66-member team also relishes the chance to connect When American flags are too tattered and wind-beaten to fly proudly, they indext are retired.By setting a flag aflame and spreading the ashes, the flags are honorably laid to rest."You always put (ashes) where nobody will walk on it - what better place than the river," said Al Timerman, the president of the Tazewell Military Rites Team.

The team spreads the ashes from old flags collected around the area - about 65 of them this year - annually in the Illinois River.Members took a cruise on the Spirit of Peoria on Sunday to send the flags to their final resting place.

The 66-member team also relishes the chance to connect with the community. The indext group performs military rites at funerals throughout the area - usually about 80 per year - and takes part in community outreach, such as flag folding at school assemblies and meeting with Boy Scout Troops.