From the Buffalo News…
Area residents will commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks Sunday and Monday with prayers, music and tributes to those who died and those who responded.
The Buffalo & Erie County Remembrance Committee will present a tribute to the heroes and victims and a salute to freedom at 8:30 a.m. Monday at the outlook tower at Erie Basin Marina. The tribute will include local religious leaders and dignitaries from all levels of government, plus a floating salute from the Coast Guard, the fireboat Edward M. Cotter and area boaters.
Also at 8:30 a.m. Monday, the Buffalo honor guard of the Transportation Security Administration will conduct a brief ceremony at the security checkpoint at Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
A demonstration with the K9 explosive team will follow in the baggage claim area. The two dogs are named after victims of the terrorist attacks.
At 8:30 p.m. Monday, a “walk of light” tribute will be conducted at Hilbert College in recognition of victims, rescuers and others affected by the attacks. The walk will start in the quad of the campus on South Park Avenue in Hamburg.
With torches lighting each of six stations, participants will hold candles as they walk to each station to pray for and remember different groups affected by the events. In case of rain, the event will shift to the Hafner Recreation Center.
The Town of Amherst will conduct a Ceremony of Remembrance at noon Monday at the Amherst Memorial Hill Grove along the Ellicott Creek Trailway.
The grove is seven-tenths of a mile from the entrance at North Forest Road, between West Klein and Maple roads.
A living memorial to the victims of the attacks, the grove consists of an American flag, a monument and 120 trees surrounding a memorial bench.
The town will provide transportation for those who need it from the trail’s parking lot on North Forest Road.
An observance from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at the Iron Island Museum, 998 Lovejoy St., will feature songs by Tony Sisti, an invocation and remembrances.
The Colden Fire Company will mark the anniversary with a ceremony at 7 p.m. Monday at the Colden Fire Hall, Route 240 in Colden.
Assemblyman Jack F. Quinn III, Colden Supervisor Chuck Nuttle and Fire Chief Jody Feidt will speak. Some events will take place in advance of the anniversary day.
Several Masonic lodges are sponsoring an interfaith religious service and flag presentation at 8:30 a.m. Sunday at the Grand Island Fire Headquarters, 2275 Baseline Road.
Eggertsville-Grand Lodge 1138, Harmonie Lodge 699 and Hiram Lodge 105, the oldest Masonic lodge in Erie County, will present flags to select community and civic groups after the service.
A remembrance vigil will be held at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Greater Buffalo Chapter of the American Red Cross, 786 Delaware Ave. The vigil, which will include music and readings, is presented by the Red Cross Sept. 11 Support Group. The group has placed 3,000 flags on the building’s front lawn to represent those who died.
