9/11 Memorial Events Scheduled

Tomorrow, September 11th, 2009, marks the 8th anniversary of one of the grimmest chapters in American history, the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. The horror of that day, and the days that followed, are forever burned into our collective consciousness. While our nation as a whole has moved on from that day, the pain and anguish still linger and many localities hold memorial services and events commemorating the lives that were lost and irreparably changed on that day.

Several local towns are planning memorial events, so we have taken the liberty to list here the ones we know of (as reported by the Meriden Record-Journal and Jason Zandri in his blog):

Meriden: City of Meriden 9/11 Memorial Service, Friday, 7 p.m., New Life Church, 262 Bee St.
Wallingford: 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony, Friday, 8:30 a.m., Parade Grounds, Town Hall, 45 S. Main St.
Southington: Third annual 9/11 Ceremony, Friday, 10:30 a.m., The Summit at Plantsville, 261 Summit St.
Cheshire: Eighth annual Mark Jardim Memorial Jog, Oct. 11, 1 p.m., Cheshire Park, off Highland Avenue.

Wallingford will be the only area town to hold an official ceremony, at 8:30 a.m. on the Parade Ground in front of Town Hall, 45 S. Main St. At 6:30 p.m. that evening, the town’s three volunteer fire de­partments— Yalesville, North Farms and East Wallingford — will have open hous­es, with each showing a video about Sept. 11.

The keynote speaker at the Meriden service will be Stanley Praimnath, who was working on the 81st floor of the World Trade Center’s South Tower when the second plane hit. Praim­nath was trapped under a wall of debris in a stairwell but was rescued by two other survivors, including Brian Clark, who served as the keynote speaker of last year’s event.

The Summit at Plantsville, a nursing and re­habilitation center on Summit Street in Southing­ton, will host its third annual Sept. 11 memori­al ceremony. The event is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. and will feature speeches by members of the Southington Police and Fire departments and lo­cal politicians.

In Cheshire, the eighth annual Mark Jardim Memorial Jog, a five-kilometer fundraiser in hon­or of the Cheshire High School graduate who was killed in the attacks on the World Trade Cen­ter, is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 11. The event, which has raised more than $40,000 for Jardim’s scholarship foundation, Cheshire Special Olympics, the high school’s cross country team and other area charitable organizations, will take place at 1 p.m. along the trails of Cheshire Park.

Please join us in remembering the terrible events of that day: the fall of the twin towers; the attack on the Pentagon; and the crash of Flight 93 in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania. The courage and sacrifice of those that fell that day should never be forgotten.

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