A week to remember: 9/11 events to be held throughout county

EDMONDS — After years of work, the 9/11 memorial park in Edmonds is expected to be completed soon.

An opening ceremony is planned for 9:11 a.m. Friday, and marks 14 years since the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.

The event, one of several remembering 9/11 in Snohomish County this week, is organized by the firefighters union, Local 1828.

The centerpiece of the memorial park near Fire Station 17, 275 Sixth Ave. N, is a one-ton steel beam that was recovered from the site of the New York attacks. The rusted, dented beam is upheld by two stainless steel towers designed to look like the World Trade Center, firefighter Dave Erickson said.

“You will have the image of the stainless towers bright and shining in the sun just like we remember them from the New York skyline,” he said.

A stained glass memorial wall at the park has more than 3,000 panels. Red panels represent firefighters killed in the attacks, with blue for police officers.

“They will form the shape of a unfurling American flag,” Erickson said. “That whole wall will be transparent. Like a stained glass wall, it will light up when the sun comes up in the morning.”

The 9/11 memorial project was paid for with about $50,000 in donations. Much of the labor was donated, Erickson said. A separate sculpture at the park honors local firefighters who have died in the line of duty.

The Fire District 1 Honor Guard will play “Amazing Grace,” followed by “Taps” performed by Debbie Dawson, the senior animal control officer for the Edmonds Police Department.

Some of the smaller pieces in the park — plaques, signs and paving stones — will be added later, Erickson said. Construction continued this week.

The park will be a place where people can sit and reflect, he said. Four Japanese maple trees represent the four planes that were hijacked.

“There is a lot of symbolism incorporated into the design of the park,” he said. “It is a small and intimate park and we didn’t want to overwhelm it, but there will be a lot of things within the design that will reveal themselves.”

Additional 9/11 events are planned in Arlington, Lake Stevens and Marysville. The Arlington Fire Department also has a piece of World Trade Center steel set in a memorial display, downtown. A fundraiser, the sale of “Arlington Remembers” challenge coins, continues. Arlington’s events Friday include the dedication of a plaque to those who have contributed to the memorial, city spokeswoman Kristin Banfield said. The coins cost $100, or $550 for a framed plaque with four coins. A spaghetti dinner fundraiser also is planned.

In Lake Stevens, the local ceremony was first held in 2010 and has continued every year, said Tom Thorleifson, a spokesman for the Lake Stevens American Legion Post 181. Legion members partner with the city and the police and fire departments, he said.

“We knew we needed to do this,” Thorleifson said. “It’s something that should be in every community. We do it for the community.”

Marysville has hosted an annual 9/11 memorial service, Fire Marshal Tom Maloney said. Mayor Jon Nehring will speak at Friday’s event. The Marysville service also remembers local fire Lt. Jeff Thornton, who died from cancer in 2001.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.

9/11 events

The attacks on the World Trade Center in New York killed 2,753 people, an attack on the Pentagon killed 184 and 40 people died on Flight 93, which crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back against the al-Qaida hijackers.

Events are planned around Snohomish County on Friday to mark the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Arlington: A spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the memorial site downtown is planned from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Fire Station 46, 137 N. Macleod Avenue. Cost is $10.

Edmonds: A ceremony is planned for 9:11 a.m. Friday at Fire Station 17, 275 Sixth Ave. N. Lake Stevens: The American Legion Post 181 will host a memorial service at 10 a.m. Friday at Fire Station 81, 12409 21st St. NE.

Marysville: The Marysville Fire District’s Honor Guard will host a ceremony starting at 8:30 a.m. Friday at the Marysville Library, 6120 Grove St.

To add local events to this calendar, send information to rking@heraldnet.com.