Crime & Safety

Somers to Honor Those Lost on Sept. 11, 2001

A ceremony will take place at the firehouse at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10.

On Saturday morning, the Somers Sept. 11 memorial event will remember with gratitude and respect those who lost their lives on that day - including the 343 first responders.

The event will also honor the members of the armed forces who fight for the United States in war right now, veterans, and those who have lost their lives or suffered injuries.    

The event, which begins at 10 a.m. at the Somers firehouse, will have four speakers: Rev. Anthony Bruno, Congressman Joe Courtney, First Selectwoman Lisa Pellegrini, and Fire Chief Gary Schiessl.  

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Bruno is the Town of Somers Fire Department Chaplin and also served on the Fire Commission. He works for the Connecticut Department of Corrections where he is the director of chaplins.

Courtney has provided a lot of assistance to the town of Somers and has been active in bringing commitment and services to his constituency. Courtney has also done a great deal for the armed forces and veterans.  

Find out what's happening in Ellington-Somerswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Also in attendance will be a color guard from the Connecticut National Guard and the band will provide musical accompaniment and have also prepared a special tribute.  

The will be used and Chief Master Sgt. James Shewokis from the Connecticut National Guard, Windsor Locks loaned the town a picture of the first plane from Otis Air Force Base that responded to the call for help from New York City on Sept. 11.  

"It is the reason why we wanted to include the National Guard in our ceremony," Selectman Kathleen Devlin said. 

The donated a substantial sum of money to refurbish a memorial provided through an Eagle Scout project by Phil Nelson. Bores Landscaping Services provided most of the labor and volunteer firefighters were there on weekends to help with the project. 

donated most of the plants and Pellegrini and Devlin did the plantings and also helped with the weeding and pruning.

Ann Kirkpatrick and JoAnn Hornyak donated their time and materials to put the field of flags in front of the firehouse together. The flags are to remember and honor the 343 first responders who lost their lives.  

The planning committee for the event consisted of Rick McDonald, Tim Percoski, Chris Bores, David Govine, Pat Loftus, Beverly Austin, David Palmer, and Devlin.


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