Rotary Club, VEA come together for reflection area, 9/11 ceremony
This Sunday marks the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in this country.
The Pahrump Valley Rotary Club, with help from the Valley Electric Association, Inc., recently constructed a First Responders Reflection Area in the Calvada Eye just east of the duck ponds to honor the more than 400 police officers and firefighters that were among the nearly 3,000 that died that day.
Rotary Club President Ryan Muccio said plans are now underway to officially unveil the section on Sept. 11.
Invited guest speakers include District 36 Assemblyman James Oscarson and Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly. The entire community is invited to take part in the observance.
“This will be at the Calvada Eye and we will have tents and chairs set up as well as provide donuts and coffee for those who come out,” he said. “Fire Chief Scott Lewis will bring out the tower ladder which was actually used during the 9/11 tragedy and he will hang the American flag from the top of the ladder. There will also be members of Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Services on hand.”
Muccio noted the ceremony will coincide with the exact moments the planes hit the World Trade Center towers.
“It will start roughly at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11,” he said. “The first moment of silence will start at 8:46 a.m. and we will have the speakers follow. After that, we will have the official dedication.”
Work was recently completed on the 20-foot-by-10-foot space at the Calvada Eye, where a reflection stone was laid on Aug. 31.
Muccio said the reflection area will be a permanent fixture at the site.
“The area is very beautiful and we will have some storyboard signage installed,” he said. “The county gave us a spot to build it on. There are benches there and we are hoping to have a 9/11 remembrance event each year. There are still some minor things that need to be completed.”
Muccio made certain to note that the site would not be possible without the help from county officials and VEA.
“This is a first for the Pahrump Valley Rotary Club,” he said. “I’d like to offer a big thanks to Valley Electric Association, who donated all of the money required to get all of the electrical aspects taken care of, and they donated all of the lighting. Under our previous president Ray Mankins, his project was to build the First Responders Reflection Area at the duck pond.”
The Rotary Club and Valley Electric Association are also hosting a First Responders Recognition Banquet on Sunday, Sept. 11, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Valley Conference Center located at 800 East Highway 372.
Tickets for the chicken, steak and chocolate cake dinner can be purchased at Valley Electric Association or the Pahrump Chamber of Commerce office for $60. All proceeds go to area first responders. For more information call 775 -727-2116.
On a clear Tuesday morning on Sept. 11, 2001, 19 men associated with the terrorist group Al-Qaeda hijacked four American commercial airliners and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States.
The attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, took the lives of 2,996 people including more than 400 police officers and firefighters.
The passage of time has not diminished the tragedy for two area organizations, as the Pahrump Valley Rotary Club and Valley Electric Association teamed up to memorialize those who lost their lives in the attacks.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com
