By Shavonne Potts
spotts@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — As the nation stops to remember Sept. 11 and the lives lost during the 2001 terrorist attacks, local events will take place to recognize those victims, and the people who continue to risk their lives to protect others.
The city of Salisbury and Rowan County will honor the fallen and those who still serve with a Sunday memorial service at 9:30 a.m. at the Salisbury-Rowan Firefighters Memorial, adjacent to Chestnut Hill Cemetery at 1400 S. Main Street.
Here are some of the other local programs and events:
Friday
Livingstone College will hold its 4th Annual September 11 Remembrance Celebration on Friday. The event begins at 11 a.m. at the college’s front entrance, near the flag poles.
Salisbury Police Chief Rory Collins and Salisbury Fire Department Battalion Chief David Morris have been invited to speak at the ceremony in honor of New York City police officers and firefighters who lost their lives.
At the end of the ceremony, balloons will be released. Each balloon will have a note written to Sept. 11 victims and survivors by Livingstone College students, faculty and staff.
The commemoration is sponsored by the Sigma Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority.
Sunday
• Oakland Heights Baptist Church, congregation will host a Sunday service for Patriot’s Day at 11 a.m. The church is at 205 Newsome Road.
The church is asking all prior service personnel to attend along with firefighters, including volunteers, law enforcement, troopers, military personnel including Reserves and National Guard, veterans and auxiliaries and American Legion members. The invitation is also extended to doctors, nurses, techs and other hospital/VA staff. All are encouraged to wear their uniforms. Service vehicles are welcome and parking is available.
• Concord, Kannapolis, Harrisburg and Cabarrus County will host a community-wide Patriots’ Day remembrance ceremony. The event will take place Sunday at 2 p.m. at Concord Fire Station 8, 1485 Old Charlotte Road, Concord.
The event will include music, ringing of the memorial bell, laying of the memorial wreath, a 21-gun salute and unveiling of a piece of steel from the World Trade Center in New York.
Public safety and emergency medical personnel from Cabarrus County and the municipalities will attend along with members of the N.C. Highway Patrol and local responders and relief workers who traveled to New York in September 2001.
A drop off area for groups in buses will be available. General parking will be available at Stonewall Jackson Training School and the National Guard Armory. The Cabarrus County Chapter of the American Red Cross will provide water.
• China Grove and the Historical Society of South Rowan will host a celebration to honor emergency responders. The ceremony will be Sunday at 3 p.m., downtown China Grove. A section of Main Street will be blocked at 1 p.m. Parking will be available on side streets.
• Catawba College will be the site of the Testament of Freedom, a remembrance service at Omwake-Dearborn Chapel, 2300 W. Innes St., at 5 p.m.
The event features singers from Soldiers Memorial AME Zion Church, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, First United Church of Christ and First Presbyterian Church.
In addition to singers, there will be bagpipers, bells and more. A cantata will feature words from the writings of Thomas Jefferson and American composer Randall Thompson. Robert N. Hall-quist is the pianist, and Rick Smith is the conductor.
Local piper Dave McKenzie will also perform. There will be a litany of remembrance and tributes to policemen, firefighters and other public servants. The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard will provide a gun salute.
• The Rowan County Youth Services Bureau’s Times Two Mentoring Program will hold a candlelight ceremony from 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday on the steps of the Rowan County Courthouse, 210 N. Main St.
Participants of the mentoring program will speak about their 9/11 experiences and light candles in memory of victims and their families, EMS workers, firefighters, police officers, and others who risked their lives.
Bring a candle to light and small goods to send to soldiers overseas, or attend and watch the ceremony. Mentors, children and Program Director Laura Porter will be available to speak with those attending and explain mentoring.
Monday
At Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Monday will be a day of remembrance at the North and South campuses, where a room will be set aside for memorabilia. Faculty, staff and students will wear red, white and blue.
Tuesday
• At Catawba College, members of the faculty will offer a panel discussion, which is open to the public and campus community, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Ketner Hall’s Tom Smith Auditorium.
Provost Dr. Richard W. Stephens notes that faculty panelists will share insights from their respective academic disciplines on the lingering effects of and changes wrought by Sept. 11.
• Rowan-Cabarrus Community College will have Civic Engagement Day, where students are encouraged to take part in community service projects. The current project is to make a blanket for the local battered women’s shelter.
Contact reporter Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253.