Remembering the days after 9/11 and how we responded Week Of 9/13/2021

By: 
The Press staff

For those who weren’t alive or are too young to remember Sept. 11, 2001, it’s hard to imagine the impact that fateful day had on the country.
Heightened security measures at schools and businesses were quickly put in place; but in the days and weeks following the initial shock, area residents, students, teachers and administrators, elected officials and others set themselves to the task of assisting in relief efforts.
What follows is a sampling of those efforts:
Michael's Cafe and Bakery, Main Street, raised about $19,223 from sales and donations.
The fundraiser was held Sept. 28 on what was called Salvation Army Disaster Relief Day. Portions of the day's sales were donated to the cause.
More than 30 students enrolled in the Penta Career Center's Culinary Arts Program donated their gratuities on Oct. 11 to charities involved in the relief effort.
High school juniors and seniors, who operate a full-service restaurant called Culinary Connections at the school, served vegetable lasagna, moo su chicken, beef pie, hamburgers, salads, soups, and desserts.
The Dine for America Day was observed nationwide.
At Oak Harbor High School, the student choirs combined forces for the United Way and Red Cross.
During classes, a bin was sent among the mixed, women's, and men's choirs.
The choir council then voted to send $800 to the United Way to benefit the families of victims.
Including the choirs' donation, the entire school collected about $3,400 for relief efforts.
Just down the road from Oak Harbor High School, residents and staff of the Riverview Senior Health Care Campus held a rock-a-thon and raised more than $3,000 for the Red Cross.
Calvary Lutheran Church, Bradner Road, Northwood, hosted a disaster relief concert Nov. 4.
The Toledo Metropolitan Mission, the Arab-American Association and the Islamic Center spearheaded a community-wide relief initiative to aid the victims of the attacks.
The local reaction to the terrorist attack was a mix of shock, anger, and sadness as stunned residents and businesses tried to absorb the extent of the unfolding events.
The Sunoco MidAmerica refinery on Woodville Road went into a "heightened level of security" shortly after management heard the news reports from New York.
BP Toledo Refinery in Oregon also heightened security.
Business at area gas stations picked up considerably by mid-afternoon as motorists rushed to beat an anticipated increase in prices.
At a Sunoco station on State Route 51 in Genoa, the lines had grown so long by evening that police cruisers, their lights flashing, blocked motorists from turning left into the station to keep the west-bound lane open.
In Port Clinton, the Ottawa County Emergency Management Agency office didn't fully activate but representatives of various agencies met to monitor the situation. The Ottawa County Sheriff's Department provided additional security for the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station.

Prayer service
All but a few pews at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church near Elmore were crowded with people that evening for a prayer service that brought together members and the pastors of Bethel United Brethren Church, St. Paul Trinity United Methodist Church, St. John's United Church of Christ, as well as Grace Evangelical.
Asked by the Rev. David Nevergall, of Grace Evangelical, for their ideas on how the churches could respond to the tragedy, those attending the service suggested writing letters of support to those involved in rescue operations, the military, and victims' families.
Donating blood to the Red Cross and contacting churches in the New York area to offer assistance were also suggested.
While the suggestions were being discussed, the roar of a westward-bound military jet could be heard overhead.
At Genoa High School, the student council organized a fundraiser for the Red Cross, setting a goal of $1,000.

Grants delayed
Even a presentation of grants to seven northwest Ohio volunteer fire departments was canceled.
State Fire Marshal Robert Rielage was to present grants to the department chiefs at a ceremony Tuesday evening in Portage, O.
The chiefs of Central Joint Fire District, Hoytville, Jerry City, Wayne, Washington Township, Liberty and Washington Fire and Rescue, Bloomdale, Sandusky Township, and Woodville Township were to attend.
Chief Paul Heineman, of the Woodville Township department, was to accept a grant of $7,798 to purchase protective clothing and tools for fire fighters.

Schools close
Evening activities in local school districts were canceled. At Northwood schools, sports events, club meetings and an open house at Lark Elementary School were all canceled.
David Yenrick, principal of Waite High School, said up to 100 students were called home by their parents during the day.
"My concern is that it would have a domino effect. I felt bad about what's going on, but I didn't want students to capitalize on someone else's misfortune by leaving school. There were some situations where a student's aunt worked in the World Trade Center and the parent wanted the child home, but I was concerned of a copycat situation where some students just wanted to get out of school," he said.
Waite, which normally closes its building by 11 p.m., locked its doors to students that day at 3:45 p.m.
When announcing to students that the school would close early and that all after-school activities were canceled, Mr. Yenrick added:
"Many of you who have been watching the attack on America in your classrooms realize the serious ramifications of this devastating act of terrorism. Many of you do not. Many of you take your freedoms and liberty for granted. This should be a wakeup call."
Dr. Alberta Ellis, superintendent of Oregon City Schools, implemented the district’s crisis plan, which required there only be one entrance to the building.
"We had one person positioned there to see who was coming into the building. We didn't allow students out for recess. We took no trips out during the day. And we cancelled all after school activities," she said.
Watching TV was prohibited at the elementary schools because of the age of the students.
"We just felt these are things we want parents to share with their children at home," she said.”Some parents called to ask that their children be sent home for the day. I would not send the children home unsupervised. I thought they would be safer in the building. Some parents came and got their children, but not many."
In Oregon, the Christ Dunberger American Legion Post donated 600 American flags to the city which were being placed along Wheeling Street and Navarre Avenue.

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