Students at Sidney Senior High School gathered in front of the High School recently to plant a tree in honor of alumnus, Army Spc. Isaac Michael Nieves. Isaac, a member of the class of 2001, was serving in Iraq when he was killed on April 8, 2004.

Spc. Nieves, the first Sidney area soldier to be killed in the war in Iraq, was assigned at the time to the Army's 82nd Engineer Battalion 1st Infantry Division, stationed at Bamberg, Germany. He was killed when his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb and was fired upon.

Isaac was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the National Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.