PARKERSBURG - Two remembrances of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacks are being planned in Parkersburg.
West Virginia University at Parkersburg will hold a campus ceremony to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks.
The event will take place at 11 a.m. Sept. 7 on the college's campus in front of the main building. The event is open to the public.
The campus community will gather to remember those who lost their lives in the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the airline flights on Sept. 11, 2001.
The ceremony will include the presentation of colors by the National Guard. The keynote speaker will be Cindy Bullockm whose sister, Parkersburg native Mary Lou Hague, was a victim of the 9-11 attack.
WVU-P President Marie Foster Gnage, Student Government Association president Loren Bell and WVU-P professor Aaron Crites, who was present in Washington at the time of the attack, will provide comments.
The program will include a ringing of the bell and moment of silence in honor of the fallen. A WVU-P student will sing the national anthem. A singing of "America the Beautiful" by those in attendance will conclude the program.
Another ceremony to remember Sept. 11 and honor those who died in the attack will be conducted beginning at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 11 in Bicentennial Park in Parkersburg.
The remembrance is open to everyone. All first responders in the county, elected officials including the mayors and city councils of all four municipalities, local legislators and area congressional representatives have been invited to attend.
A joint resolution from all elected officials in Wood County will be read following a brief welcome, an invocation by Parkersburg Fire Department chaplain Kevin Siers and the national anthem.
A band comprised of the Parkersburg, Parkersburg South and Williamstown high schools bands will play "God Bless America," followed by a balloon release to recognize the first responders who died on Sept. 11, the lighting of memorial lights atop Fort Boreman Hill and a benediction. The lights will remain focused on the memorial flag and will remain lit until midnight.
