Laurel Highlands students learn about 9/11
Roberto M. Esquivel/HeraldStandard.com
Fayette County Sheriff Gary Brownfield thanks the students at Hutchinson Elementary School who held a special program Monday morning honoring the area’s first-responders.
Roberto M. Esquivel/HeraldStandard.com
Students at Hutchinson Elemetary School personalized goodie bags that were prepared for several area law enforcement agencies as part of first responders appreciation program held at the school Monday morning.
Roberto M. Esquivel/HeraldStandard.com
Capt. Dave Rutter, Uniontown Police, holds up a hand written note that thanks him for his service. Rutter along with other members of law enforcement received notes and goodie bags from students at Hutchinson elementary school as part of a post 9/11 program Monday morning.
?Elementary students in the Laurel Highlands School District Monday learned about the terrorism attack that occurred 10 years ago and thanked area first-responders.
Representatives of area police, fire, medic and municipal leaders were invited to the schools and were presented with hand-decorated treat bags accompanied by thank-you letters. Law enforcement representatives went to Hutchinson Elementary School.
After a flag ceremony by Laurel Highlands Air Force Junior ROTC members, the students in kindergarten through fifth grade watched a short video explaining what happened on Sept. 11, 2001.
The students watched the video intently as news commentator Linda Ellerbe explained how four airplanes were hijacked that day, and how two hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and one hit the Pentagon before passengers on a fourth plane learned what had happened and fought back on Flight 93, which went down near Shanksville in Somerset County.
Pennsylvania State Police Sgt. Joseph D’Andrea, who is stationed in Uniontown, told the students that he was among the first-responders to the Shanksville site.
“Because the state police barracks in Somerset is very small, they asked for assistance,” D’Andrea said.
D’Andrea said he personally spent a week at the Shanksville site, mapping the scene for the FBI, which was in charge of the investigation, as well as gathering debris from the crash site as evidence.
“When everyone is running away, the police and firemen are running toward the danger,” D’Andrea said.
Fayette County Sheriff Gary Brownfield said the local search and rescue team was on standby to go to New York to help search for victims from 9/11 because of the availability of the team’s search dogs.
“The dog’s feet were getting torn up because of the glass and steel. We had Eskimos, who live far away, who made boots for our dogs,” Brownfield said.
Laurel Highlands school security chief Rich Barron said that 10 years ago he was the police chief in Masontown.
“My job then was to keep the people of Masontown safe, just as my job today is to make sure the Laurel Highlands School District is safe. I want you guys to come to school to learn and not worry about your safety; that’s my job,” Barron said.
Building principal Rick Hauger said it’s important for the students who were too young to remember the attack to learn about what happened in America that day, as people came together to help one another in a time of great need.
“We want our students to understand the importance of being service-oriented,” Hauger said.
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