PARKERSBURG - Several programs to commemorate the events of Sept. 11, 2011, will be held this morning and this evening when a vigil will be held at West Virginia University at Parkersburg.
Also, the state of West Virginia will hold a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. today. Before the moment, Gov. Earl Ray and Mrs. Tomblin will place a wreathe at the West Virginia Fallen Firefighters' Memorial outside the Culture Center and a ceremony will be held on the north side of the Capitol.
The Student Engagement and Activities Group at WVU-Parkersburg will hold a candlelight ceremony at 9 p.m. in the courtyard in front of the school, organizer Nichole Milliren said. The event was still being planned on Monday and organizers were attempting to schedule speakers for the program, she said.
On the itinerary is a bagpiper from the university who will perform "Amazing Grace," she said.
The program is open to the public, Milliren said.
This morning at 7:30, students at Parkersburg High School will gather round the flagpole in front of the school in what has become an annual observation of Sept. 11, 2001, to honor the victims and Mary Lou Hague, a 1992 Parkersburg High graduate, who was a research analyst on the 89th floor in Tower 2 of the World Trade Center where one of two hijacked airliners were flown into the structures by al Qaida terrorists.
The ceremony, sponsored by Student Council, is open to the public.
Students can begin gathering at 7 a.m., said student council adviser Diane Cunningham.
At 11 a.m. at WVU-Parkersburg, a ceremony at the main entrance of the school will honor emergency responders and the West Virginia State Police in light of the two troopers recently killed in action. State Police Sgt. James Stout of the Parkersburg detachment will be the main speaker.
Also speaking will be college President Marie Foster Gnage and student government President Loren Bell, and a flag will be presented by the West Virginia National Guard.
Luminarias are being sold for a luminaria service at 9 p.m. at the school. Proceeds will be donated to the families of the fallen state troopers.
Hijackers organized and funded through the al-Qaida terrorist network hijacked four airplanes on Sept. 11, 2011. Two of the planes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York City, one into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the fourth crashed in a field in southwest Pennsylvania after passengers retook the plane.
