Desert Messenger

4 www.DesertMessenger.com September 20, 2017 9/11 Ceremony at Celia's Rainbow Gardens by Joanne Winer Last Monday was Sept. 11, a date that will be remembered forever for the horrible events that took the lives of so many innocent people. The planes that flew into the Twin Towers in New York City, and the Pentagon, and the plane whose pas- sengers stopped a terrorist plot to destroy more buildings--probably the White House--were filled with innocent passengers and crew, ex- cept for the few hijackers who make it their mission to try to terrorize our country and kill our people. Those few hours showed the worst and the best of people, when thousands of innocent citizens went to work that day and didn't make it home, and when hundreds of firefighters, police, and other first responders put their lives at risk to save as many as they could, of- ten at the cost of their own lives. These horrible acts of terrorism against our democracy and free- doms should not ever be forgotten, nor should the sacrifices that were made that day by many Americans for their fellow man. When I decided to do a monu- ment in Celia's Rainbow Gardens to remember the events of 9-11, I thought of putting in the bell tower and having a peace garden under it. Then I started thinking about all the other times that our first respond- ers have put their lives on the line to protect and serve our community and I wanted to have something that would pay homage to the ones who had died that day, and also to those who have given their lives in other disasters or in the line of duty, and also the ones who are still working and in danger every day. So, we are now in the process of making the Heroes Bell Gardens, and this past Monday was the second ceremony we have done; last year we dedicat- ed the Bells that were hung and this year the focus was on 9-11. Because Sept. 11 is still in the heat of our summer, we have the ceremo- ny at 6 p.m. and it is still a little hot for some, but we only get an hour and a half of daylight, so we've had to try to fit it all in a short time. Since the Bell Gardens is for all heroes, we want to be able to talk more about those too, so we have decided that sometime in the spring we will have a Heroes First Responders Day. It will be in the morning or afternoon so many more people will be here to participate. We will be able to show off the monuments we will be working on over the winter, hope- fully getting enough volunteers to get it done. Several work sessions will be planned in the next several months, and it is hoped that the six monuments and landscaping will be worked on at this time. The 9-11 ceremony was attended by more than 60 people, including members of the Quartzsite Fire and Rescue, Quartzsite Police Dept., La Paz County Sheriff's Dept., VFW Comrades and Auxiliary and their Riders, Freedom Riders, and Op- eration Hero Comfort. The cer- emony began with a welcome and invocation by Pastor Bruce Swart, followed by the Pledge of Alle- giance, and a talk by Mayor Norm Simpson, remembering what he was doing when the towers went down. Fire Chief Kevin Hess, who is also a chaplain, gave his thoughts about it and also read the Fireman's Prayer. Pastor Jeff Jones from the Alliance Church and chaplain of the Police Dept. also said a few words and prayers. VFW Post 769 Commander Bill Holt spoke for the comrades, and Preacher Jim McFarland spoke for the VFW Auxiliary. All of these great speakers talked about their experiences and what 9-11 meant to them, and also about how working together and working for our com- munities together can make this world a better place for everyone. I think that says it all. All during the ceremony, people from the different groups being honored came up and rang the bells. After the ceremony, town council members and park board members in attendance, and all the other people who came out were asked to ring those bells too. La Paz County Supervisor Duce Mi- nor was also included. It sounded just great to have those bells ringing so strong!!! I would like to thank the Parks and Rec. board members and Town Council for their support, and es- pecially for Parks workers Emmett Brinkerhoff, Tom Thomas, and Dana Anderson for their hard work getting the bells placed last year and for making sure that the chairs and canopy were in place for this ceremony again this year. Thank you also to the officers and fire- fighters from the Quartzsite Police, Sheriff's office and Quartzsite Fire Dept. for participating again, and to the VFW comrades and Auxilia- ry and riders honor guard for also participating. Thanks also to Op- eration Hero Comfort for their dis- play, and to all the attendees who endured the heat this year for this ceremony--thank you all. If you want to be a volunteer for the monument building or land- scaping, or wish to come to the work sessions we are planning over the winter, please call me at 927-6551. We are also looking for donations of materials for the monuments like cement blocks, patio stones, bricks, mortar mix, cement etc. or colored rocks. Please call and we can pick them up or you can bring them out to the Gardens and leave them there by the bell towers area. We are go- ing to need people who can mix ce- ment, have wheelbarrows, rakes, shovels, place blocks, bricks, and patio stones, and some who like landscaping to help with planting cacti, bushes and trees. A picnic lunch will be provided to everyone who works at the work ses- sion for a few hours that day. Look for information on Facebook and in the Messenger for when the work sessions are planned. The more hands we have, the more we can get done!! Thanks again for such a great ceremony! See Photos on Page 12 https://www.ready.gov/september

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