The [Somerset County, PA] Daily American
43 Articles on United Flight 93
Starting from the bottom up, the first 21 undated news articles in this Daily American compendium concerning United Flight 93, were published or posted to the web sometime between September 11th and September 18th, 2001, when the collection was first spotted online by archive.org. The page had grown to 41 summary titles by the second time archive.org crawled it, on October 24, 2001. Then in seven subsequent sightings, the last one being on April 1, 2003, the page remained unaltered, with no further additions. Afterward, it left no evidence of further web recognition. [I made this note sometime in 2010, but I see that subsequently archive.org recorded a crawl on May 15, 2011]
The first three articles at the bottom are the only ones to bear timestamps: 2 p.m., 4:25, 8:p.m., which distinguishes them as being posted online the first day--September 11th. Oddly, the third article in the list, 'International terror touches Somerset County,' is also repeated verbatim in the ninth position of this ascending, apparently sequential order. This duplicative pair, as well as two other articles, acknowledge contributions from the Associated Press.
Why would the Daily American publish the identicle article two days in a row?
Interestingly, amid the sequence of articles we find one by staff writer Sandra Lepley, 'Second Black Box found,' but its title is missing from the summary list of title links that crowns the page, where it should occupy the 16th position. It too, gives credit to the Associated Press. But nowhere in this series do we find reporting on the discovery of a First Black Box from Flight 93.
The title of another article is also missing from the summary list, where it would occupy the 12th spot: 'Police guard crash scene, charges may be filed.'
This makes for a total of 43 news articles in the compilation.
The third article to share an AP credit, 'Other planes in air around Flight 93,' stands at number 21, and so we can date it within the first-week parameter established by archive.org.
Located in this lot are two articles by two different reporters who both covered the same event---the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance, held by proclamation of President Bush on Friday, September 14th---which figured as a large local memorial gathering staged at the Somerset County courthouse. Apparently posted together on Saturday, September 15, the similarity between the two titles is nonsensical, especially when posted side by side: 'Community stands strong,' by Bobbie Black, and 'Community stands strong in wake of tragedy,' by Mike O'Brien.
Reporter Black provides readers with this narrative description of soon-to-be-ex Pennsylvania Governor:
"Ridge's remarks drew a standing ovation from the crowd, which also applauded the families and United Airlines co-workers who attended the service.
"Seated in front of the courthouse in reserved seats carrying white roses and red candles, the diverse group of about 80 people prayed, sang, wept and waved American flags as the service was held. They received a standing ovation as they filed quietly in, many of them being supported by Red Cross Disaster Services representatives."
"Filed in?
Complete 911 Timeline: Shanksville, Pennsylvania [History Commons]
Tragedy creates unity in Shanksville [posted circa Tuesday, Sept. 26th]
Special counsel set for United Flight 93 [posted circa Tuesday, Sept. 26th]
Duncansville man cited following incident at scene of Flight 93 crash [circa Tuesday, Sept. 26th]
Seven-ton flag honors crash victims
FBI finishes recovery work [posted Tuesday, Sept. 25th]
Counseling, support offered in time of tragedy
Memorial site stands in tribute to victims of Flight 93 crash
FBI agent's lost card used in Somerset area
Syrian diplomat addresses Somerset Rotary about sad cirumstances in U.S. [Saturday, Sept. 22]
County supports Ridge move [posted Saturday, Sept. 22]
Family of crash victim speaks [posted Friday, September 21]
Firefighter with local ties among N.Y. victims [internally datable as Friday, September 21, 2001]
Flight 93 made America stronger -- Lynne Cheney [posted Friday, Sept. 21,]
Seven ton flag comes to Jennerstown
More than 70 agencies involved in Flight 93 crash investigation [posted Thursday, Sept. 20]
Family of Flight 93 victim thanks community [Wed. Press Conference, posted Thurs, Sept. 20]
Coroner works with families to identify victims of Flight 93 [posted Thursday, September 20th]
Investigators continue searching for evidence [posted Weds. Sept. 19th or Thurs. Sept. 20th]
National tragedies lead to large sales of American flags
Terrorism brings halt to firemen's convention
First lady gives hope to families of Flight 93 [posted Tuesday, 9/18]
Relative of Flight 93 victim expresses loss to family and country [posted Tuesday, 9/18]
Other planes in air around Flight 93 with AP [posted Sunday, Sept. 16, or Monday, Sept. 17th]
Community attempting to cope with reality of terrorism
Memorial service at CT
Community stands strong By BOBBIE BLACK [posted Saturday, Sept. 15th]
Community stands strong in wake of tragedy By MIKE O'BRIEN [posted Saturday, Sept. 15th]
Second Black Box found By SANDRA LEPLEY with AP [posted Saturday, September 15th]
Passengers on Flight 93 credited for avoiding crash into the Capitol [Press Conference, Friday, Sept. 14th; posted online Saturday, Sept. 15th]
News media from several countries flock to crash site
Investigators fill Somerset hotels [posted Thursday, September 13th]
Police guard crash scene, charges may be filed [posted Thursday, September 13th]
Emotional support given to help area cope with tragedy
Memorial Service Precedes tonight Windber Township Football game
International terror touches Somerset County with AP, repeat [posted Wednesday, Sept. 12]
Ridge promises forceful response [posted Wednesday, Sept. 12]
Witnesses recall plane crash[posted [posted Wednesday, Sept. 12]
Murtha speaks on tragedy and terrorism [posted Wednesday, Sept. 12]
Local schools, businesses react to tragedy [posted Wednesday, Sept. 12]
School sports schedules uncertain in wake of attacks [posted Wednesday, Sept. 12]
International terror touches Somerset County with AP, [Sept. 11]
Emergency crews coordinate crash response [Sept. 11]
45 die in jet crash [these three articles posted on Sept. 11]
Tragedy creates unity in Shanksville[posted circa Tuesday, Sept. 26th]
By MIKE O’BRIEN
Daily American Staff Writer
SHANKSVILLE --More than two weeks after the small town of Shanksville (pop. 245) was drawn into the national spotlight as a result of the crash of United Flight 93, residents say they are more closely-knit and more full of pride than ever.
"I've lived here for 77 years now and I've never been prouder of Shanksville than I am right now," said Shanksville mayor and life-long resident Ernest Stull. "From the residents to the fire company and the ladies auxiliary, and everyone else involved in helping out, I could never get done saying thank you to them," he continued.
Stull said that he was very pleased to see the way the town's residents reacted to the crush of national and international media attention in the aftermath of the hijacked plane's crash landing in a nearby strip mine.
"They handled all the media attention wonderfully," Stull said. "The people in charge of the fire company and the ladies auxiliary and the borough council, everyone just handled everything with the utmost efficiency," Stull said.
"It brought the town much closer together by working together and just being together. There's just a whole bunch of pride here, and we're all very proud to say we're from Shanksville," Stull said.
Shanksville fire chief Terry Shaffer echoed the mayor's comments. "We've received nothing but praise from the FBI and Pennsylvania State Police on how we handled ourselves, not only as a fire company, but also a community. They said that the people of Shanksville were outgoing and very cooperative," he said.
Shaffer said his company's duties at the crash site included putting out brush fires that were sparked upon the Boeing 757's impact, clearing wooded areas so investigators could search for debris and using company life-saving tools to help free up debris.
"We had community members going to the crash site perimeter from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and taking hot drinks and sandwiches for the state troopers," he said.
"I really believe that we've become a closer-knit community ... it's helped to bond us closer together," Shaffer said.
"As I've said to several national newspapers, 'There isn't a place in this country I'd rather live in than right here in Shanksville'" Shaffer said.
Along with the senses of togetherness and pride, Shanksville residents also felt a collective sense of grief for the victims and their families. Numerous flags were hung at half-staff and messages of condolence like "Our Prayers Are With You" were posted on shop signs.
Shanksville resident Judi Baeckel spearheaded a drive to erect a community memorial to the victims in Baeckel's front yard on Bridge Street.
"We wanted to show our support the the victims' families as they traveled through the town to the crash site, and also to honor the victims," Baeckel said.
"With a lot of the focus on New York City and Washington D.C., we just don't want this to be the forgotten flight, because those lost in this crash were heroes," she said.
Baeckel said that the homemade memorial was especially appreciated by the victims' families.
"One of the state troopers even stopped to tell us that family members told them that they wanted the bus to slow down when returning from the crash site so they could view the memorial."
Baeckel said she hopes to find a more permanent home for the memorial.
"If they allow us, we would like to move the memorial to the site of the crash," she said.
The tragedy in Shanksville reminded all Americans that we live in a safe country with moments of danger, and not a dangerous country with moments of safety. That is something of which Shanksville residents seem well aware.
Renny Reed aptly summed up his thoughts on the Sept. 11 tragedy and its effect on Shanksville.
"The lights of freedom have faded at times in the past, but never went out. In times like this, it has never shone so bright."
Special counsel set for United Flight 93 [posted circa Tuesday, Sept. 26th]
By SANDRA LEPLEY
Daily American Staff Writer
The Somerset County commissioners designated Dan Rullo, solicitor for the county, as the special counsel to the coroner, Wallace Miller, who is now overseeing the crash site of United Flight 93.
According to Rullo, there are many legal concerns coming about right now after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officially finished its site work Monday at the Flight 93 crash site outside of Shanksville.
The coroner is in the process of issuing some death certificates to family members so the survivors can "get on with their lives," says Rullo. So far, the remains of 11 people have been positively identified through dental records and fingerprinting but the rest will be identified through DNA testing at a government lab.
This is also a time when the question of land comes into view. Svonavec Inc. owns the area where the crash occurred and leases the area to Rollock Inc. and PBS Coal. Also, Larry Hoover lives in a home nearby.
"We are trying to address the concerns of property owners and at the same time, keep the dignity and sanctity of the site," said Rullo.
The commissioners passed a resolution for the United Airlines Flight 93 and it said, in part, "The Somerset County Board of Commissioners, on behalf of all residents of Somerset County extend our deepest gratitude and respect to these courageous men and women, resolving to honor their memory and forever remember the dignity and courage of these, our new American patriots."
Duncansville man cited following incident at scene of Flight 93 crash [posted circa Tues. Sept. 26th]
[missing author credit]
[missing author credential]
A Duncansville man posing as a family member of a passenger on United Flight 93 was involved in an altercation Monday with state police troopers at the crash site.
Terrence Claar, 60, arrived at the media post outside the crash site in Stonycreek Township Monday morning stating he was a family member, a claim that proved to be false, according to state police. Claar was escorted off the property and told not to return.
Claar did return and became "physically involved" with the state police on the site, according to a police report. During the altercation, a Salvation Army van was damaged.
Claar was taken to Somerset Hospital for a physical and mental evaluation, according to police. He was cited for criminal mischief through District Justice Arthur K. Cook’s office in Somerset.
Seven-ton flag honors crash victims [posted Tues., Sept. 25th]
By MIKE O'BRIEN, Daily American Staff Writer,
JENNERSTOWN -- Hundreds of patriotic Americans braved rainy conditions Monday night to attend a candlelight vigil around the seven-ton Great American Flag on display outside the Jennerstown Speedway.
The huge flag, with its 13 foot-tall stars and 16 foot-wide stripes, is owned by Greensburg financial adviser Ted Dorfman and was unfurled as a tribute to the heroes of United Flight 93, which crashed only miles away in Shanksville on Sept. 11. The airplane was the only one of the four hijacked planes that did not reach a high-profile target, leading many to believe that heroic actions on the passengers' part may have saved countless lives on the ground.
Dorfman said he decided arrange the vigil around the flag in an attempt to "return the great flag to historical duty." The flag had been sitting in a trailer for five years before it was unfurled on Sunday.
The Hempfield Spartans marching band, of Greensburg, began the soggy evening with a number of half-time show standards, then gave way to an emotional singing of the Star Spangled Banner by Tracey Janelle.
The vigil was highlighted by a number of speeches, poetry readings and prayers by both local and not-so-local people.
After giving the invocation, the Rev. Susan H. Yatta recalled the now-timely words of American patriot Daniel Webster: "And by the blessing of God, may this country itself become a vast and splendid monument, not of oppression and terror, but of wisdom, of peace and of liberty upon which the world may gaze with admiration forever."
Kansas City, Mo. resident Jerry Plantz read his poem "I Held the Flag Today", which was written in the aftermath of Sept. 11s terrorist attacks.
"I displayed the flag today, it's flying aloft that beautiful cloth, ready for the fray. Whomever the foe, they’ll reap what they sow starting from today. I'm humble and proud and I say it aloud I'm an American, come what may," Plantz read.
Somerset County Judge John M. Cascio reminded the crowd to respect the flag and all that it stands for.
"This flag is our most enduring symbol of freedom and our freedom to have a future," he said. "So, next time you pass an American flag, salute it, even if only in your heart," he added.
Jeannie Cascio, a sophomore at Somerset High School and Cascio’s daughter, read from her prize-winning Voices of Democracy essay: "While we don’t know what the future holds or what price we will pay for freedom, one thing we do know: freedom is priceless," she said.
Dorfman presented Jennerstown Speedway owners Steve Peles and Mitch Federov with the first-ever Great American Flag Society's Director's Award for their donation of the use of the speedway.
While some came to grieve for lives lost in the tragedy, and others came to honor the grandiose symbol of America, others turned out just to see what a 15,000 flag really looks like.
"I just wanted to come out here tonight and see the flag for myself. My word, it’s huge," said one woman as she walked towards Old Glory, a glowing candle in her hand.
After the speeches, songs and prayers concluded, the crowd gathered around the flag and held up candles in dual honor of the heroes of United Flight 93 and the American way of life.
FBI finishes recovery work [posted Tuesday, Sept. 25th following Monday's FBI press conference]
By SANDRA LEPLEY
Daily American Staff Writer
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has completed its on-site investigation on Monday, 13 days after fated Flight 93 crashed in an abandoned mine site near Shanksville.
Somerset County Coroner Wallace Miller, who has been instrumental in the entire human remains recovery effort, will now be responsible for the area and any remaining work to be done.
Bill Crowley, an FBI investigator from Pittsburgh who was on scene since the beginning, held a final press conference early Monday afternoon, along with Capt. Frank Morocco, state police commander out of Greensburg, and Miller.
"The crime scene has ended here for the Somerset County crash site," said Crowley. "Late Saturday [Sept. 22] evening, the evidence gathering here at the site was halted."
Crowley explained that all aircraft parts were handed over to United Airlines, with the exception of the black boxes, the flight data recorder and the voice cockpit recorder, which are currently being analyzed by investigators in Washington D.C.
Crowley related that 95 percent of the airplane had been recovered. The biggest piece of aircraft found was a fuselage skin measuring about 6 to 7 feet. The heaviest piece was from one of the engines and weighed 1,000 pounds.
Capt. Morocco said that more than 400 people in the state police were assigned to different positions throughout the crime scene "to make sure it stayed as pristine as possible." There were also 16 patrolmen on horseback, eight police reconstructionists who helped with mapping and several police photographers.
"In every indication, it appears to have been an extraordinary effort but then again, these are extraordinary times," said Crowley.
Although Pennsylvania State Police had the largest number of men at the site, other agencies represented were Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), United Airlines, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In addition, Crowley thanked the local volunteer firefighters, as well as the American Red Cross and Salvation Army.
Crowley said the FBI had 1,500 total personnel working out of the command center on the bluff on a daily basis for 13 straight days. The FBI response team members came in from Chicago, Ill.; Cincinnati, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio; Louisville, Ky., Knoxville, Ky.; and the full unit of Pittsburgh.
Coroner Miller discussed the future of this site, which is located on private property. He says a chain link fence will be erected and no trespassing and no hunting signs will be put up. From now on, he will be working closely with United Airlines for restoration and reclamation of this area.
"Our main focus is keep the sanctity of this site," said Miller. "My main thrust from the beginning has been to be concerned for the families. I consider myself the personal custodian of their interests in Somerset County."
Miller says he worked "in concert" with the FBI from the first 15 minutes after the crash occurred. He indicated the human remains recovery effort has been completed. So far, 11 people from the Shanksville site have been positively identified but the identification process may continue for months.
Also, the DMORT, Department of Mortuary Operational Recovery Team has operated with him and the FBI on a federal level. Miller worked with specialists nationwide, including a pathologist from Hawaii and other specialists from Texas, Chicago, Ill., Baltimore, Md., and Detroit, Mich.
Emotional support specialists, security, x-ray technicians, photographers and fingerprinting and DNA expertise from the FBI, as well as local firefighters and emergency personnel were a valued part of his effort.
"Many said to me how surprised and impressed they were of the local ability to handle things under duress," says Miller. "It didn't surprised me because I know these people, some of them I have known all my life."
Miller stressed that security of the site will still be a part of the plan and if anyone hopes to gain access, they will be prosecuted either by the state police or the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
"We have been as thorough as possible but we are not naive enough to think we have gotten everything," says Miller, who asks anyone who may be in the woods for hunting season and comes across any type of material to call 445-1525.
He says "the joint effort brought a decent end to a horrible circumstance." Miller also indicated that a memorial is somewhere in the future but first, the property owners and a number of others, including the families, will need to be consulted.
A commemorative plaque sponsored by the Somerset County commissioners has been moved from the site to the courthouse annex building, Miller said.
"Please allow us the space we need so we can restore this site with pride and dignity not only for people here in Somerset County but also for people who may want to visit this site from all across the nation," says Miller. "I ask the good citizens of Somerset County to respect us and help us protect this site."
Counseling, support offered in time of tragedy
By SANDRA LEPLEY, Daily American Staff Writer,
"Parents listen to your children," stresses Justin Beal, a Bedford-Somerset Mental Health/Mental Retardation (MH/MR) specialist who helped to counsel families at the crash site outside of Shanksville.
Beal is now coordinating any community efforts and offering any support to local entities, like school districts or church groups, in terms of dealing with the local crash outside of Shanksville as well as handling the attack on America on Sept. 11.
"While everyone else's job is winding down, ours is just winding up," he laughs. "Many people who need support may seek it out at churches or other groups so we will fill a need in the community wherever we are needed."
Beal stresses that MH/MR will not be intrusive as far as seeking out people to counsel but those who wish to seek his services are welcome to do so.
"We hope to provide a local grassroots service in conjunction with state and local agencies," Beal said.
Beal warns parents to look for an unusual patterns with their children and to simply be "tuned in" to what is going on in a child’s life.
"Parents have to remember that kids are smart. Don't lie to them. Stay away from the 'what ifs.' It can create more stress, stick to the facts," he advises.
Last week, MH/MR distributed 240 teddy bears to the workers for their families and continues to coordinate efforts from the community. The program offered educational outreach services at Shanksville and Somerset schools.
Along with Beal, Rich Boland, director of operations for the Pittsburgh Critical Incident Stress Management agency, counseled families at the crash site last week as well as recovery workers. On Monday and Thursday, two separate sets of family members and friends visited the crash site and left behind personal effects and memorabilia at a makeshift memorial.
"Watching the families was very emotional," says Beal. "It was a look of awe, they took a lot of photographs and wanted to hold on as long as they could."
Boland expressed his feeling of the workers by relating that the workers did their jobs with a "sense of pride" even though they may have been down on their hands and knees for hours at a time digging through "in some cases body parts and personal effects."
"I think the attitude of the workers at the crash site was that they wanted to work hard to provide the FBI with any evidence they could," says Boland. "The sense of the workers was to gather evidence to help our nation find who is responsible for these offenses."
Boland added: "I don’t care what walk of life you are in that can have an effect on a human being. Our job is to be there for them when they need us."
Boland told the story of a recovery worker taking a break and coming over to him and telling him that he had not talked to his wife in days. Boland handed him a cell phone and told him to talk for as long as he wanted.
Memorial site stands in tribute to victims of Flight 93 crash
By SANDRA LEPLEY, Daily American Staff Writer,
Hallowed ground. A place that a photograph or a camcorder could never capture. A place unlike any other place in Somerset County.
"In Loving Memory" has never meant before what it means this week at a memorial overlooking the site where the passengers of Flight 93 drew their last breath outside of Shanksville on a sunny morning on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001.
Up until this time, the nation has heard about this crash in the form of events, dates, times, speculations, rumors, theories and public officiality as this land of countrymen stayed glued to television and newspaper reports. But now, the country and Somerset Countians specifically can learn about the ordinary people aboard Flight 93 who were thrown into an extraordinary situation, never guessing, like all of us, that beautiful morning would be drastically different from all the rest of our lives.
Whether heroic or not, these patriots faced an unprecedented moment in our nation's history, not through a television broadcast - but one-on-one, face-to-face with evil. We owe them a debt of gratitude.
"Alan," reads a message written on thin wood at the memorial site, "May your spirit soar. I will do my best to release all that went with this very full lifetime. Your love lives on. Your children do you honor. I will do my best for them on this side. Guide them from your side. Blessing, peace and love, Liz."
Thank you, Alan Beaven, one of the passengers aboard Flight 93.
In a 40-foot by 50-foot white tent, small bales of hay are almost unidentifiable under thousands of flower bouquets, cards, letters, candles, stuffed animals, framed photographs, American flags, angels saying "I said a prayer for you today," ribbons and countless other small memorabilia items. The road that once was a dusty dirt road last week has been paved for the convenience of the families and the memorial stands on the end of the pavement overlooking the crash site.
Inscribed in a child's innocent handwriting, a message reads: "I knew that my uncle (was) special in a way that I never knew and I love him more than ever, Love Courtney Nacke."
Thank you, Louis J. Nacke, one of the passengers aboard Flight 93.
Another inscription reads, "Georgine, You have inspired me in your life, your love, your heart. I know you are watching over us. For my cousin, Joy."
Thank you, Georgine Corrigan, one of the passengers aboard Flight 93.
On a posterboard full of photographs, Flight Attendant Debbie Jacobs-Welsh looks full of life and beauty, almost like a model. In what looks like pictures of her with her mom and dad, she has a million dollar smile. Her inscription reads "We love you Debbie, wonderful daughter, sister, wife, aunt, friend and true patriot."
Thank you, Debbie Jacobs-Welsh, one of the flight attendants aboard Flight 93.
Surrounded by Beanie Babies and stuffed animals and a photograph that looks like a grandmother holding her grandchildren, a tribute reads, "We love you more than you will ever know, Kristin Gould."
Thank you, Kristin Gould, one of the passengers aboard Flight 93.
A photo of Richard Guadagno with his dog, what looks like a black lab, is framed and simply has his name written on it without any inscriptions. He looks dark and dashing, an animal lover and probably a true friend.
Thank you, Richard Guadagno, one of the passengers aboard Flight 93.
The book "A Life of Integrity" by Howard Hendricks is placed next to a photo of Todd Morgan Beaner, Nov. 24, 1968-Sept. 11, 2001.
Thank you for that integrity Todd Morgan Beaner, one of the passengers aboard Flight 93.
Another tribute sends blessings to the rescue workers and whoever the author named Terry might be, he or she believes that the spirits of those who perished are watching over. It reads "God Bless you all in this rescue work. It is so hard for you. May my beloved friends, Lorraine and Wanda, two of the flight attendants on Flight 93, give you strength. They are angels now for us. May they be angels also for you with the hard task that you are facing. Thank you, with love and prayers. I can't remember the poet but I am remembering the words 'tread softly because you tread on my dreams.' Once again, God Bless You, Terry."
Thank you, Lorraine Bay and Wanda Green, flight attendants on Flight 93, for being Terry’s friend.
In a poster board full of photographs, one can see Flight Attendant Lorraine Bay in a center picture that looks like it was taken in the 1970s or 80s, a younger stewardess pictured next to a United Airlines bus. Lorraine Bay had blue eyes and wore rounded glasses with shorter blond hair and she looked like she would have had a great sense of humor. The pictures show her with her husband, her children and her grandchildren, always smiling, always with a gleam in her eye.
Thank you, Lorraine Bay, flight attendant on Flight 93.
A "Got Milk" poster of Mark McGwire with his bat and milk mustache had inscriptions all over it as a tribute to Jeremy Glick, one of the passengers who has been credited for fighting back against the attackers. Glick loved to drink milk so his family thought the poster was a fitting tribute. One of the inscriptions reads, "We are so proud to be your family. You are an American hero." Another one reads "McGuire has nothing on you. I’ll keep your spirit alive. Love, Jed." And, another says "Hope you are having a great time. You are larger than life here. Love, Jord."
Thank you, Jeremy Glick, for not only being a wholesome American but also for being a courageous American when it was you God called to step up to the plate. The Medal of Freedom doesn't seem like it is enough. You and the family that raised you with such high values deserve our deepest appreciation.
And, on a large bronzed plague the inscription embodies our thoughts: "This memorial is in memory of the brave men and women who gave their lives to save so many others. Their courage and love of our country will be a source of strength and comfort to our great nation. God Bless America." Thank you to all the rest not mentioned earlier: Christian Adams, Mark Bingham, Deora Bodley, Flight Attendant Sandra W. Bradshaw, Marion Britton, Thomas Burnett, William Cashman, Patricia Cushing, Captain Jason Dahl, Joseph Deluca, Patrick Driscoll, Edward Felt, Jane C. Folger, Colleen Fraser, Andrew Garcia, Lauren Grandcolas, Donald Greene, Linda Gronlund, First Officer Leroy Homer, Toshiya Kuge, Flight Attendant CeeCee Lyles, Hilda Marcin, Waleska Martinez, Nicole Miller, Donald Peterson, Jean Peterson, Mark Rothenberg, Christine Snyder, John Talignani and Honor Elizabeth Wainio.
We are Americans, and we are also Somerset Countians. This happened here. Our homeland will never be the same. After the investigators are gone, the cameramen roll out of town to another story and the Red Cross volunteers pack up shop, this hallowed ground becomes ours. May we never forget its sacredness in this generation and the ones yet to come.
FBI agent’s lost card used in Somerset area
A man used an FBI agent's personal credit card Thursday to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of clothing and supplies.
The agent, who was in town helping at the United Flight 93 crash site near Shanksville, lost his wallet earlier that afternoon at Quality Farm & Fleet in the Somerset Commons shopping mall along state Route 601 in Somerset Township.
The wallet contained money, business cards and a personal credit card, according to state police. The agent's credentials were not among the stolen items.
"If the individual would have looked through the wallet he would have known it belonged to an FBI agent," state police Trooper Jeffrey Brock said.
The man used the stolen credit card to attempt to purchase items at five stores in Somerset and one in Johnstown. Most of the supplies were related to children or infants.
State police declined to name the FBI agent Friday.
The individual started his illegal shopping spree around 4 p.m. at County Market, where he purchased $6.97 worth of items, according to police.
About 40 minutes later, the man bought a pair of 'Spiderman" children’s shoes and baby shoes at the Payless Shoe Source along state Route 601.
At 5 p.m., the man entered Wal-Mart and purchased two Nokia cell phones and two cell phone "activations" for $360. The store's video surveillance system captured a suspect's image on tape.
Twenty-five minutes later, the man entered On Cue and purchased children's books and cassette tapes. At 5:34 p.m., he bought baby wipes and diapers at the nearby Big Lots.
His final stop was at Gymboree in the Johnstown Galleria, where he attempted to purchase $136.50 worth of clothing.
Use of the credit card was denied several times before it was returned to the individual. The card has since been canceled, Brock said.
The suspect was accompanied into the store by a woman with blond hair.
He was seen driving a small truck similar to a Ford Bronco II. The truck was burgundy, possibly with silver highlights.
The suspect is between 5 feet 8 inches and 6 feet tall, and weighs roughly 180 to 200 pounds. He was wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans and a black and white ball cap. Police said he was wearing a black wrist watch and may have sported a goatee.
Officers are investigating several leads and hope to recover both the purchased items and the wallet along with its contents, Brock said. Anyone with information is urged to contact the state police at 445-4104.
County supports Ridge move
Several Somerset County residents and local party leaders have commented on Gov. Ridge’s move from office to fight terrorism with President Bush as the new leader of homeland security.
The comments include:
• "I know he's a good friend of President Bush. When you're in a position like that you have to have someone you can work with. I think he has a real tough job ahead of him, maybe an impossible job. But as a Democrat, I support him 100 percent and I support the president in his efforts. We have to put politics aside now and do what's best for America." — John Vatavuk, chairman of the Somerset County Democratic Party.
• "President Bush could not have picked a better individual to head this new initiative against terrorism. Tom Ridge's service in Congress coupled with his work as governor will help him cut through the bureaucracy of various agencies and get things done quickly, which will be essential for our success. They've chosen a person with powerful influence to head up this key department, which is so essential to the future of our nation." — U.S. Rep. John Murtha
• "[President Bush] could not have had a more qualified man for the position. Gov. Ridge has worked with the president from the beginning of his campaign. I think a trust is there that is needed for the position. With his military background plus his years in Congress, I think he can have the legislation drafted that he needs. He's done an excellent job here in Pennsylvania." — Clair Saylor, chairman of the Somerset County Republican Party.
• State Rep. Bob Bastian called Gov. Ridge a "strong individual" and an extremely hard worker who knows Washington, D.C., through his experience as a congressman. He also noted his military experience.
"I think you need a man of strength in a position like the one the president created last night," Bastian said.
Bastian said Ridge has shown the ability to bring opposing sides together, as he did when Congress considered the touchy issue of public financing for sports stadiums.
Plus "he and the president are friends, so I think he can work for this man," he said.
• State Rep. Tom Yewcic said the creation of the Office of Homeland Security was "something we needed 50 years ago."
"We don't have civil defense anymore in this country," he said. "I remember in elementary school doing drills during the Cold War."
Yewcic said Ridge was a good pick for the position.
"He's had some years in Congress. He's been governor here for two terms. He knows how the system works. He understands the constitution. He's also a veteran; he has a good resume," he said.
"You need an experienced administrator in a Cabinet-level position to pull things together and the governor has that kind of experience," he added. "I thought it was important for the president to appoint someone who was a friend; and Gov. Ridge fits that bill. He's someone the president feels comfortable with and can trust."
Syrian diplomat addresses Somerset Rotary about sad cirumstances in U.S. [posted Saturday, Sept. 22]
By BOBBIE BLACK, Daily American Lifestyles Editor
"I am here under sad circumstances," said Ilias Samo, a diplomat for Syria and president of the University of Leppo in Syria. "It doesn't matter who did this (the terrorism of Sept. 11), it is a tragedy for all of us. No one in the Middle East finds pleasure in destroying human lives."
Samo, who spoke at the Somerset Rotary Club meeting Friday afternoon at the Somerset County Club, has been involved with past Mid-East peace talks held in Syria. He holds dual citizenship in both Syria and the U.S. and often speaks on college campuses about terrorism in the Middle-East.
Samo said he was in Syria at the time of the U.S. attacks and his children called him to the television to watch the World Trade Center Towers collapse. "My family and I were sick at heart. There is a lot of sadness in dealing with this tremendous loss of human life."
Samo, a Christian in a primarily Muslim country, will be speaking on the college campus of Old Dominion University in Virginia later this month. He has spent 20 years lecturing, writing, and speaking on Syria and the Middle East terrorist movement.
Samo said the U.S. needs to achieve world peace by eliminating terrorism, continue the flow of oil from the Middle East, and serve as a mediator with the state of Israel.
Traveling companion Abbas Abutaa, a resident of northern Virginia, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen also spoke to the group. "I was born in Jerusalem, a citizen of Jordan. I came to America 30 years ago, and I love this country. My five children are U.S. citizens and they love this country, too. I am a Muslim and my wife and I try to teach our children to be good Americans and good Muslims, working hard, being honest and to respect one another.
"I take issue with the photographs on CNN showing the Palestinians dancing in the streets. Many U.S.-Palestinians believe those photos are not a true representation of what the country feels. We have heard that those photos were taken of celebrations from two years ago, and then shown on television. We are devastated and are upset that not a true representation of our country was shown," said Abutaa. "Since the terrorist attacks, photographers have come in our mosque (in Washington, D.C.) and taken pictures showing people smiling. That is not representative of how we feel. We are in mourning, too. I came to this country with a small amount of pocket change, and I have worked hard to make a good life in this country. God has been good to me and I am sad for my country."
Family of crash victim speaks [posted Friday, September 21]
By BRIAN SCHROCK, Daily American Staff Writer
'We all envision him fighting to the last,'-Family members of Flight 93 victim Alan Beaven
CHAMPION -- A deeply spiritual man, Alan Beaven meditated and was at peace before he boarded United Flight 93. The environmental lawyer was on his way to a trial in California before embarking on a year-long sabbatical in which he hoped to find a greater purpose in his life.
"He fit more into his 48 years than most people could fit into a lifetime," Beaven’s son John, 21, said Thursday night at Seven Springs Mountain Resort. "He blazed through life and once he made a decision, he never looked back."
"At least for me -- I don't feel like he's gone. We just can’t see him anymore. We can't hug him anymore," added 18-year-old son Chris, who said his father lives on in himself, his brother and his 5-year-old sister Sonali.
Beaven's family visited the memorial near the crash site Thursday, leaving behind a photograph from a London newspaper and a prayer from each member.
Sonali, whose name means "the golden one" in Sanskrit, used her finger to draw a heart in the gravel, and filled the outline with flower petals, a family member said.
The two boys were joined Thursday night by Alan's wife, Kimi, and his friend of 25 years, Richard Gillett. They were the third family of passengers on Flight 93 to speak to the media.
The two boys were joined Thursday night by Alan's wife, Kimi, and his friend of 25 years, Richard Gillett. They were the third family of passengers on Flight 93 to speak to the media.
They spoke of a "great man" who was a barrister in England, a prosecutor in Scotland Yard, a professor at Kings College, an ardent surfer, but mostly a devoted father.
Beaven, of Oakland, Calif., moved to the United States from New Zealand in 1985. As an environmental lawyer, his first case was against oil giant Mobil.
Although he lost the case, Gillett said the matter gave his friend the experience he needed to thrive as an environmental lawyer. His wife said Alan was hoping to ply his trade in India, to resolve environmental problems there, during his sabbatical.
"He loved a challenge," one said.
Beaven and his wife met in India, and celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary on the day before the plane crashed.
"We were very much in love; very excited about the future," his wife said.
When asked, Mrs. Beaven said she had no regrets about things she might have said to her husband or the thoughts he could have shared with her prior to his untimely death.
Family members said they were not contacted by Alan during the flight. "He didn't believe in cell phones or computers," John said.
But all believed he helped the other passengers bring the plane down where it could do the least damage.
"We all envision him fighting to the last," Gillett said. "If he felt something was wrong, he would take action."
Family members said the tragedy has unified the country like nothing else has been able to do.
They expressed appreciation for the "love and generosity" of the people here, including state police troopers who saluted them at the crash site. One expressed hope for the future.
"I think he wanted to watch his children grow up" Chris said. "I really don't think it's too late for that."
Firefighter with local ties among N.Y. victims [internally datable as Fri., September 21,]
By VICKI ROCK
Daily American Staff Writer
NEW YORK CITY - Mike Warchola, 51, was retiring at the end of this month. A lieutenant of Ladder Co. 5 of the Fire Department of New York, he was one of the firemen to rush to the scene of the first plane crash at the World Trade Center.
The men of No. 5 and 24 were among the first to respond. They pulled their fire trucks right up to the north tower and headed up the "A" stairwell. The men of Co. 24 made it up 37 floors, carrying heavy equipment, said Marcel Claes of Engine No. 24, and got an urgent message to come down. Co. 5 was up higher.
Warchola and seven others of Ladder Co. 5 perished. Denis, his brother, is also a captain in the fire department. He was not in the building when it collapsed. He helped with rescue efforts and worked to find his brother's body which was recovered Sept. 15.
Warchola's father, Michael, is still living. His mother, Norah, is deceased. He has two children, Aaron and Amy Warchola, both in their 20s. His aunt and uncle, Bernard and Dorothy (Warchola) Oravec live in Johnstown. A cousin, Paul Warchola, is also a New York fireman. He was not injured.
"Denis is younger than Mike, and there's an age difference with me, but they'd come visit us and we'd go there," his cousin, Bernie Oravec, Johnstown, said. "They weren't used to the woods and we'd go out and put crab apples on sticks and fling them around. They'd take crab apples and sticks back to New York."
Mike and Denis loved the fire department, Oravec said.
"Mike was very nice, an active guy, athletic," he said. "Both Mike and Denis were very active in the fire department."
Oravec's parents received a call from Warchola's father who was visited by the parents of a rookie fireman. That rookie was on the truck with the others of the company, but Warchola wouldn't let him go in the building. He ordered him to leave, saving his life.
His funeral is today (Friday). Only one cousin will go from this area because of the difficulty getting in to New York now, Oravec said. His uncle suggested the others visit later.
The family is asking for donations to NYC Bravest Scholarship Fund, c/o Uniformed Fire Officers Assoc., 225 Broadway, Suit 401, New York, N.Y. 10007; or the NYCPD Burn Center.
Community stands strong in wake of tragedy [posted Saturday, September 15th]
By MIKE O'BRIEN, Daily American Staff Writer,
"A week ago, I never thought this was how I was going to be spending my Friday night. But right now, I couldn't think of any other way I'd rather spend it," said a woman as she walks with her stroller-pushing husband towards the Somerset County Courthouse.
The trio are among 3,000 Americans gathering at dusk on the steps of stately courthouse to observe the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance in the wake of Tuesday's terror attacks that dropped airplanes and havoc in Washington, D.C., New York City and Somerset County.
Throughout Somerset, flags at half-staff and yellow ribbons tied to poles serve as constant reminders of an entire nation's grief, which some compared to what was witnessed immediately after Pearl Harbor and the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
"I always thought the Challenger shuttle explosion was going to be the tragedy that our generation would always remember, but now it looks like this will be it," the woman adds.
Many at the gathering had just spent the week glued to their television sets, struggling to make sense of an otherwise incomprehensible set of events. About 5,000 people are still buried beneath the rubble in New York as the crowd takes their place beneath the cloudless sky.
The intersecton in front of the courthouse has been closed down to allow for the pedestrian traffic which is spilling over the sidewalk's curbs. For this reporter, it seems the only place to stand is atop the base of the Civil War statue that stoically stands guard outside the courthouse.
A small boy also stands atop the base, staring at the huge flag as the vigil begins. His young mind wanders, and dreams of a day when he is old enough to go off and fight the terrorists himself. His mother silently watches him and dreads that now-seemingly inevitable day. A chill runs down her spine and a tear wets her eye.
This reporter wonders if another memorial honoring our war dead will stand here one day because of what Tuesday's attacks may lead to.
One by one, starting with the flight crew, and then the passengers, the names of those aboard United Flight 93 are read, except for five names that were not provided by officials.
A bell tolls after each name, and five more times for the witheld names. The bell, tolling for both the innocent and the guilty, reminds this reporter of a John Donne poem he once read long ago:
"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the lesser, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
As the darkness falls, candles begin to burn throughout the crowd, casting their light upon tear-streaked faces, faces showing grief for those who may have never visited Somerset County in life but now will forever be a part of its loamy soil.
The vigil draws to an end with a patriotic flourish and the crowds begin to disperse, bound to return to their television sets and the sorrow that they seem to transmit these days.
But for more than an hour on Friday night, Somerset residents moved from their TVs and stood together to show their unyielding strength and unity, because that's just what Americans do.
Emotional support given to help area cope with tragedy [posted Friday, September 14th?]
By VICKI ROCK, Daily American Staff Writer,
As the investigation continues into the crash of United Flight 93 near Shanksville, steps have been taken to provide emotional support for people who live in the area and for emergency workers.
Administrators at Shanksville-Stonycreek schools, a short distance away from the crash site, decided on Tuesday to let the children go home early if parents came to pick them up. Superintendent Gary Singel said he didn't want children to go home to an empty house.
"The little ones don’t realize what's going on," Elementary Principal Rosemarie Tipton said. "We're doing well, we’re trying to keep their minds off it."
Five mental health counselors were at the schools on Wednesday, Singel said, but students didn’t feel the need to meet with them. A couple of students became upset and asked to go home early. They were allowed to when their parents arrived. Thursday, a teacher became distressed, but after meeting with a guidance counselor, was able to teach.
"The immediate thing was shock," he said. "Now we're dealing with the aftermath. We reassured the children they are safe. That’s the most important thing."
Older students and faculty members are asking what they can do to help. The school is contacting the American Red Cross about a blood drive. It also suggested that donations of bottled water and food be donated for the investigators and is hosting a crisis meeting.
Bottled water, sodas and other food may be taken to the Shanksville fire hall at any time.
Bedford-Somerset Mental Health/Mental Retardation Agency, in cooperation with Somerset Hospital and Critical Incident Stress Management Team, Pittsburgh, is holding two community meetings. The first will be from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday at Shanksville-Stonycreek High School cafeteria. The other is from 1 to 2 p.m. Sunday at Somerset High School auditorium.
Training for ministers and other counselors will be held by the American Red Cross at 10 a.m. Friday at Heritage Baptist Church.
The community meetings are being called "Pulling Together as a Community, Making Sense of Flight 93." They are open to people of all ages, but child care will be provided. Refreshments will be available. News media are asked not to take cameras in to the meetings.
Mary Piatt-Bruner, county manager of mental health services and coordinator of the emergency response team, said the team is activated in traumatic situations such as this, the tornadoes, teen suicides and other fatalities. The meetings will have an educational flavor. People may ask questions about how to deal with children’s questions and what is normal after traumatic events.
"People may expect stress two weeks from now, two months from now and even a year from now,” she said. "Different things may trigger it. People react in different ways. They may experience fatigue or flu-like symptoms which is stress-related."
People may also call MH/MR during regular business hours at 443-4891 or the crisis hotline at 1-877-814-4891.
Dr. Matt Masiello, chairman of the pediatrics department at Conemaugh’s Memorial Hospital, said the most important thing for parents to do is remain calm and demonstrate a calming effect to children. If children are under the age of 10 or 12, limit their exposure to the media, turn off the TV. Teenagers may watch TV as long as parents are there watching with them and discussing events.
"Last, but certainly not least, we want to make sure parents get across to their children there are law-abiding ethnic groups, good citizens of America," he said. “Don’t exhibit hatred or anger towards them.”
Signs of anxiety in children include them acting out, not sleeping, not eating right, hanging around the house or having tantrums. When that happens, parents should regroup and sit down and talk with the kids. They should come home early from work or take a day off to spend time with kids.
"They need to put it into perspective," Masiello said. "It is time for communities and for families to come together and help each other."
Bob Fisher, a clinical social worker and director of the unit at the Staunton Clinic, said his group is part of an emergency team which has the contract to provide mental health services at Pittsburgh International Airport. Staunton Clinic is a part of the Heritage Valley Health System.
The unit sent a team to the airport immediately after learning of a crash in the event that families were flown in.
"There were so many different rumors about what was happening, people thought Pittsburgh may be a target," he said.
When it was learned that families were not arriving immediately, the team left the airport. Family members are going to be taken to Seven Springs Resort.
"If we’re called to go there, we will," he said.
When his unit was created early in 1990, it was one of the few which did crisis counseling. Now there are a number available. His group counseled people after the USAir Flight 427 crash seven years ago and was involved with people of Mountoursville because French students were killed on a TWA flight in 1996.
Rescue workers tend to throw them into the process for hours on end. They don’t take care of themselves and they don’t absorb emotionally what is occurring. In time, that begins to set in and they can suffer from emotional exhaustion. It helps if they have people to talk about it.
People who are emotionally exhausted speak in a flattened tone and look sad or depressed, Fisher said. Beyond that, their skin tone becomes gray, they have bags under their eyes and they seemed numbed. It is called psychic numbness. After awhile, they may cry. That is why you see firemen in New York who are on breaks crying as it hits home. Many have lost close friends.
They feel they can never do enough, even when they work many hours. That is a feeling of irrational guilt. Some people tend to harbor anger which can lead to depression. Signs of depression include sleeplessness, impaired appetite and sadness all the time.
"When that happens, it’s time to get professional help," he said.
News media from several countries flock to crash site
By SANDRA LEPLEY, Daily American Staff Writer,
Outside of Shanksville, picturesque meadows and corn fields at harvest time have taken on a different look this week as local, national and international media descended upon this area to cover one of four terrorist plane crashes.
Camera crew trucks with satellite dishes, photographers with every imaginable telephoto lens and about 150 people waiting for the next press conference are now part of the landscape as media representatives from around the world live out of their suitcases to bring the world some news about this event.
"This is a beautiful contrast," says Sophia Coudenhove, a freelancer for the Sunday London Times, who is based out of New York City. "In New York, it was very different, complete pandemonium."
Coudenhove says that this "iddlic, rural scenario" would have stayed untouched had it not been for this tragedy.
Two Canadian newsmen from La Presse in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, arrived at the media area on Wednesday and just missed the press conference at noon. They had traveled about 11 hours to get here and found a smaller border crossing in order to pass through more quickly.
"The borders were closed yesterday (Tuesday)," said Yves Boisvert, a reporter at La Presse, who is traveling with fellow photographer Pierre McCann. "We found a very small border that was not busy or else we would have been waiting hours and hours to get through."
Boisvert, who speaks with a thick French accent, says three reporters from La Press went to New York City, one to Washington D.C. and one to Boston, Mass.
"Canadians are very concerned about this incident," said Boisvert. "We depend on America for security. They are allies and friends. We know now that if America was a target, we could be a target also. Many (Canadians) are in disbelief because we had feelings of security because our neighbor was so strong."
Boisvert pointed out that in Canada, as in all parts of the world, children are asking so many questions because their sense of security is in jeopardy and adults do not have any answers themselves.
Another news reporter from the Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Paris, France, happened to be on vacation when the incident occurred but was called back to work immediately.
"This is almost impossible to comprehend," said Thomas Marzahl, a full-time reporter for the AFP who lives and works in Paris, France, but who was in the states for vacation. "This is impossible in a situation like this for any news reporter to put on a reporter's hat and be calm, cool and collected."
Marzahl wrote stories through the night and left abruptly Wednesday afternoon when his editors called him to Washington D.C. He says he loves living in Paris and if he ever moved back to the United States, he would move to Boston, Mass., or San Francisco, Calif., because he loves those cities best.
"Anyone with a heart would be moved by this," said Marzahl before his departure. "This is a worldwide incident with worldwide implications. The world has watched this with shock, horror and disbelief."
When about 150 media people were taken to an area above the site on Wednesday afternoon, the group was very subdued and quiet and at times, all that could be heard was the mechanical noise of camera shutters.
In addition to several television, print, and radio journalists from the area, other reporters on scene were from the Sacramento, Calif., Bee; Columbus, Ohio; Akron, Ohio; Wall Street Journal; USA Today; New York Times; and the Baltimore Sun. Also two students from Bethany College in West Virginia decided to travel to the media area Wednesday to tour the crash site.
Investigators fill Somerset hotels [posted Thursday, September 13th]
By MIKE O’BRIEN, Daily American Staff Writer,
Tuesday's air tragedy near Shanksville, which killed 45 people and is believed to be related to two other terroristic attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., has brought swarms of national media and government agencies to Somerset, pushing local hotels and motels to capacity levels and forcing at least one local wedding party to change its plans.
FBI officials said Wednesday that the recovery effort at the crash site could last anywhere from to three to five weeks, which may conflict with the 20,000 people expected for the state fireman's convention on September 26.
At the Knights Inn in Somerset, manager Janell Patterson said that many of the 112 rooms at the hotel have already been filled by FBI agents, state police and coroners.
Patterson also said that a 50-room wedding party was scheduled for this weekend at Knights Inn, but the bride-to-be agreed to give up many of the reserved rooms in order to house the influx of investigators. She said that some 300 wedding guests will be housed in tents instead, according to the bride.
Patterson also said she received a call Tuesday from United Airlines officials to reserve 30 rooms to house any victims' families for the upcoming weekend. It has been reported that at least one victim's family is on their way out from Newark to view the crash site.
Sharon Mesaros, the front desk manager for 152-room Ramada Inn in Somerset, said FBI and state police have filled the hotel to capacity. She expects the rooms to remain full for a "good while" as the recovery effort continues. Mesaros said she also received a phone call from United Airlines looking to reserve rooms for victims families. She said the Ramada Inn will be able to furnish some rooms for that effort.
The Hampton Inn on Laurel Crest Road in Somerset is currently filled to capacity, according to general manager Jennifer Logue. Red Cross officials and other government agencies are occupying a majority of the 111 sleeping rooms, according to Logue. She said the capacity booking levels were extraordinary for the hotel.
"Actually, we've been overbooked, starting at Tuesday around 10 a.m.," said Mandy Klinkner, a manager on duty at the 102-room Holiday Inn in Somerset. As phones continued to ring behind her, Klinkner said the majority of the reservations were from state troopers and other government agents.
The general manager of the Best Western Executive Inn in Somerset had no comment for this story.
Police guard crash scene, charges may be filed [posted Thursday, September 13th]
[missing author credit]
[missing author credential]
Trooper Tom Spallone, a state police officer stationed in Greensburg, could neither confirm nor deny reports from the local crash scene Tuesday that a television cameraman had picked up debris from the site.
"A rumor was going around to that effect (Tuesday)," he said.
The trooper could say that no arrests had been made as of Wednesday afternoon, although about a half-dozen people had breached the three to five mile search area surrounding the site.
"This is such a big perimeter that someone could have accidentally walked in," Spallone said. "We have to use common sense."
One of the latest incidents happened Wednesday evening, when state police observed a vehicle along state Route 2019, just north of Sky Line Drive, near the crash scene.
Two "males" were found in a nearby field, attempting to get closer to the site, according to police. One was in possession of what police believe is marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Charges are pending.
Spallone said the area near Shanksville, and in particular, a roped-off inner perimeter surrounding the aircraft's remains, continues to be heavily guarded.
"We have 130 officers on the daylight shift and 150 on the night shift," he said. "Or main job is to protect the crime scene."
Those officers have gathered from state police barracks in Somerset, Uniontown, Greensburg, Ebensburg, Indiana, Butler and Pittsburgh, among others, and include men and women from special details within the state police, he said.
"No one area was stripped thin to inadvertently jeopardize any of our citizens," Spallone said.
The state police spokesman said he didn't feel the numbers of officers at the crash site was minimizing police coverage elsewhere.
"I don't think we are spread thin. We’re not at 100 percent, but I don’t think we are spread thin," he said. "It's not like they were all taken from the immediate area."
Memorial Service Precedes tonight Windber Township Football game
By NAN TEMYER, Daily American Correspondent,
DAVIDSVILLE - With patriotism running high, none is more apparent than the Conemaugh Township and Windber school districts working together to prepare a memorial program to honor the victims of the recent terrorist attack on the United States.
This special unity/memorial program is tentatively set for 7 p.m. on the Davidsville athletic field prior to the start of the Windber-Conemaugh Township high school football game.
The program originated with the two schools both wanting to do something in lieu of the tragedy facing America this week.
"We felt more than a moment of silence should be done to show unity," said Jim Foster, Conemaugh Township Area High School assistant principal. "We sat down as a group and pulled the plans together over a two-day period," he said. "This illustrates that despite the longtime rivalries between the two schools, we can still unite as one."
As of Friday evening, plans were still under way to include other community organizations.
The tentative schedule will open with an announcement of the Memorial Ceremony followed by the Windber and Conemaugh Township cheerleaders carrying a huge flag from the end zone. The two football teams will be interlaced at attention facing the center of the field as the combined Black and Red and White and Blue bands play "America the Beautiful."
Following a moment of silence the local fire companies will ring a bell 45 times in honor of the 45 deceased passengers aboard United Airlines flight 93 that crashed near Shanksville. The firemen will then ring an alarm to recognize and honor the firefighters who are working, missing and deceased in the city of New York.
The bands will then play the "Star Spangled Banner" as a group of members of the Conemaugh Township and Windber choruses sing along with them.
After the Ramblers and Indians football teams exit the field to get ready for the coin toss, the bands will play both schools' alma mater. Members of the Connumach Lions Club and a military color guard will also be present for the ceremony.
In addition to the program, members of the Conemaugh Township student council will be located at a designated area yet to be named to accept store-wrapped foods and drinks for the workers at the plane crash site in Somerset County. The items will be delivered to the Shanksville Stonycreek School for distribution.
Also, local firemen will be collecting monetary donations for a firefighters fund that will be used for those working, missing and deceased in New York City.
The program will carry over into the halftime show with more American based songs.
[Is this repeated article going out on Wednesday--the exact same article that first appeared at 8 pm on Tuesday evening? If so, maybe it's to cover up for it's first appearance coming too early.]
International terror touches Somerset County [Wednesday, Sept. 12, repeat of Sept. 11th]
By SANDRA LEPLEY, Daily American Staff Writer,
Somerset County was drawn into a international catastrophe when a Boeing 757 airplane crashed into a former strip mine site outside of Lambertsville in Stonycreek Township on Tuesday morning. All people aboard the plane, 38 passengers and 7 crew members, were believed to be dead.
The Boeing 757 crash was one of four reported Tuesday by United and American airlines. Two jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City and one hit the Pentagon in Washington. Police officials believe this crash in Somerset County is related to the other terrorist attacks.
The United Airline plane, flying from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco, Calif., crashed into a field alongside a wooded area at about 10 a.m. in what appears to be a hijacking incident.
The hijacking panic in the air was recorded just before the crash at 9:58 a.m. when a a man who said he was a passenger locked in a bathroom aboard United Flight 93 called the 911 on his cell phone and repeatedly told officials the call was not a hoax.
"We are being hijacked, we are being hijacked!" dispatch supervisor Glenn Cramer from Westmoreland County quoted the man from a transcript of the call.
The man told dispatchers the plane "was going down. He heard some sort of explosion and saw white smoke coming from the plane and we lost contact with him," Cramer said.
FBI agent Wells Morrison, the special agent on scene who is handling media questions, wouldn't confirm that the plane was hijacked, but said the FBI was reviewing the tape of the 911 call.
"At this point, we're not prepared to say it was an act of terrorism, though it appears to be that," Morrison said.
Rep. James Moran, D-Va., said after a Marine Corps briefing in Washington that Flight 93 was apparently intended for Camp David, the presidential retreat in the mountains of Maryland. The crash site was 85 miles northwest of Camp David.
For Lee Purbaugh, 31, of Listie, the thought of seeing a plane crash right before his eyes still seemed unbelievable to him when interviewed a half-hour later.
"I never in my life thought I would see a plane crash right before my very eyes," said Purbaugh, who was at the wreckage within minutes after the crash.
Purbaugh's second day on the job at Rollock Inc.,a scrap metal company who owns the Diamond T mine, a former PBS mining site directly above the crash site, came with a shocking surprise. The crash happened within 200 yards of Purbaugh's view.
"I happened to hear this noise and looked up," said Purbaugh, who indicated the plane was about 40 to 50 feet above him. "I didn’t know if I should duck or what because this plane was so low but then in a split second it hit."
Purbaugh describes the crash as "just like a big mushroom cloud." He says when it hit, it "shook the ground, rolled over in some way and then collapsed." The crash site itself didn’t look like an airplane had crashed. From a distance, it seemed like a crater in the ground with smoke coming from it.
Purbaugh thought at first it was just a cargo plane carrying some mail because when he ran up to the actual scene, he didn’t notice any carnage, just some mail around. He also noticed a bookbag. He said the pine trees right next to the sight were on fire from the explosion and the fire was also spreading through the woods.
"I knew about the world trade center at that time but I never expected something like this," said Purbaugh. "There was scattereddebris everywhere, some in large chunks, but nothing you could identify. I’m just shocked it happened here."
Mark Stahl of Somerset, who went to the scene immediately afterwards, says, "there's a crater gorged in the earth, the plane is pretty much disintegrated. There's nothing left but scorched trees."
Michael R. Merringer was out on a mountain bike ride with his wife, Amy, about two miles away from the crash site.
"I heard the engine gun two different times and then I heard a loud bang and the windows of the houses all around rattled,"Merringer said. "I looked up and I saw the smoke coming up."
The couple rushed home and drove near the scene.
"Everything was on fire and there was trees knocked down and there was a big hole in the ground," he said.
Purbaugh, Stahl and the Merringers were at the site before state police crews and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrived to secure the entire area as a crime site. All media representatives at the site were directed to leave the scene immediately or be arrested. Police helicopter crews circled overhead every few minutes. Within a few hours, a blitz of media crews were camped out by a cornfield off Little Prarie Lane in Stonycreek Township. More than 100 local, national and international print, television and radio media waited for hourly updates from state police and FBI.
"We are preserving this as a crime scene until we determine whether or not it is an act of terrorism in relationship to what happened in the United States today," said Morrison, the FBI agent in charge of the investigation. Morrison indicated that "scores" of other FBI agents will be coming to Somerset from Pennsylvania and other parts of the country to continue the investigation that may end up taking several days or weeks.He said that the agents will be taking some time to get there because air travel is not allowed.
Morrison said everything must be thoroughly documented if recovered from the crash site. He says that is whythe FBI and State Police, in addition to firefighters and other crews, are working together in a "methodical way."
According to Dave Fox, the local liaison for emergency management, fire crews from Shanksville, Stoystown, Friedens, Listie, Somerset, Central City, Berlin and Hooversville, as well as Somerset Ambulance, were on scene helping with the clean-up.
State Police Trooper Lyle Szupinka, Area 3 commander, who gave hourly updates to media peopledescribed the whole incident as a "great tragedy." Szupinka says all agencies are well working together to corral the site and preserve the evidence.
He says that eyewitnesses to the crash are being questioned and if anyone happenedto be an eyewitness to the crash or otherwise, please call state police in Somerset at 445-4104.
American Red Cross director of Special Events, Chestnut Ridge Chapter, Kristina Dulashaw, explained that an incident like this takes everyone's "collaboration." She worked as a Red Cross representative during the plane crash incident at Aliquippa, Hopewell Township, on Sept. 8, 1994.
"One of our main concerns is the family members and providing any needed mental health services to them when and if they arrive," says Dulashaw. "Our volunteers are trained professionals with experience at handling these kind of traumatic situations."
Betsy Mallison, a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) who is representing the Pennsylvania Emergency Management at the scene,remembersthe horrific plane crash in Hopewell Township in September of 1994.
"I never thought I’d see another one (crash) in my lifetime," says Mallison. "I never wanted to ever see another crash in my lifetime."
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
The downed plane is believed to be related to two terrorist attacks on U.S. soil Tuesday, including the destruction of the World Trade Center Towers in New York City and an attack on the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
The Associated Press has reported that one man aboard Flight 93 used his cell phone to call 911 and tell a dispatcher that the plane was being hijacked. FBI agent Wills Morrison would not confirm Tuesday evening that the plane was hijacked, but did acknowledge that the FBI was reviewing a tape of the 911 call. The crash site is considered a crime scene, although officials have been hesitant to link it to the other terroristic acts of Tuesday morning.
"It's difficult to describe the range of emotions everyone feels when they not only learn about these incidents today, but they’ve actually seen them," Gov. Ridge said. "The dictionary is inadequate, and there just aren't enough words. But I guess the range of emotions goes from rage and anger to sorrow to horror to, I guess, a sense of nausea that we all feel."
By mid-morning state police had cordoned off a three-to-five mile area of land where the plane had crashed. A tour bus was used to shuttle members of the media to a viewing point a few hundred yards from the actual crash site. A state police official told a group of reporters that two people had already been arrested for trespassing in an attempt to take pictures of the wreckage.
After touring the crash site from the air, Ridge commented that "the most telling sign of this horrific tragedy is a large gaping hole."
Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the National Transportation Safety Board said they will begin the "painstaking work" of recovering evidence and any human remains from the site on Wednesday morning.
Ridge said he spoke with the governors of New York and Virginia, where the other attacks occurred, and offered the support of any emergency crews or equipment that may be needed. Ridge said he had not spoken to President Bush at the time of the 6 p.m. press conference.
Ridge also made a plea to his fellow Pennsylvanians for their prayers, their blood donations and their talents to aid in recovering from the terrorist attacks. He said a registry was being set up for people who want to volunteer their talents. Area blood banks are setting up donation centers throughout the week.
"One of the questions I've tried to deal with all day is how to explain to my two children, and to America's children how something like this could happen. There is no rational explanation, because we don't resolve our differences in this country that way. We have to tell them that there are people in this world who don't share the same value system or the same belief system that we do," the governor said.
After the press conference, Ridge said he was headed back to Harrisburg to sign an emergency disaster declaration which will free up additional state money to assist in the relief efforts currently underway.
Witnesses recall plane crash [posted Wednesday, Sept. 12]
Blair, of Stoystown, a driver with Jim Barron Trucking of Somerset, was traveling in a coal truck along with Doug Miller of Somerset, when they saw the plane spiraling to the ground and then explode on the outskirts of Lambertsville.
"I saw the plane flying upside down overhead and crash into the nearby trees. My buddy, Doug, and I grabbed our fire extinguishers and ran to the scene," said Blair.
Lambertsville resident George Beckett was going to visit his mother-in-law Lucy Menear, when the accident occurred. "I had been planning to go in those woods (where the plane crashed) and start looking for some hunting sites. I was going to start right where the plane came down."
Menear, who lives across from the Lambertsville Road at the intersection where a graveled road leads to the crash site near the strip mine, said, "I felt the ground shake with the impact. I didn’t know the plane had crashed. It was just a big jolt."
Laura Temyer of Hooversville RD1 was hanging her clothes outside to dry before she went to work Tuesday morning when she heard what she thought was an airplane.
"Normally I wouldn't look up, but I just heard on the news that all the planes were grounded and thought this was probably the last one I would see for a while, so I looked up," she said. "I didn't see the plane but I heard the plane's engine. Then I heard a loud thump that echoed off the hills and then I heard the plane's engine. I heard two more loud thumps and didn't hear the plane's engine anymore after that."
She thinks it might have been the plane that went down near Indian Lake in Somerset County.
A plane going over Shanksville wasn’t anything unusual because it is a military flight corridor, said Kelly Leverknight, who lives in Shanksville, just a couple miles from the crash scene.
She said she heard the explosion, felt the blast, then saw smoke and fire coming out.
"I thought it hit the school," she said.
She didn’t have a car, so she ran to the neighbor's house and the two drove to where the plane had crashed and went into the trees.
"The grass was burned. We saw a bunch of paper and pieces no bigger than a foot around scattered all over the place," she said. "We didn't think there were people on the plane because we didn't see anybody."
Kim Custer, 15, a tenth grader at Shanksville Stonycreek High School, said she was on the second floor of the school, located only a few miles from the crash site, when the plane went down.
"I looked up and saw the ceiling tiles jump up and down, then I felt the whole building shake," she said. "Then we heard a big boom, and a few minutes later the fire alarm system went off, so we all got out of there," she said.
Custer and other classmates had been following the events unfolding in New York City and Washington, DC when the plane went down.
"I was very scared," she said.
(Several other Daily American reporters contributed to this report)
Murtha speaks on tragedy and terrorism [posted Wednesday, Sept. 12]
By BRIAN SCHROCK
Daily American Staff Writer
JOHNSTOWN -- U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha said the federal government was on a heightened state of alert for a month and a half prior to Tuesday's terrorist attacks over reports that a military installation in Washington, D.C., was scheduled to be "hit."
The congressman also speculated that the terrorists who purportedly took over the Boeing 757 jetliner that crashed near Shanksville Tuesday were aiming for another target, perhaps "a second shot at the Pentagon, the Capitol or the White House itself."
"Their destination was sure not an open field in a rural part of Pennsylvania," Rep. Murtha said.
"I thought we were fortunate that plane didn't hit a populated area. It was fortunate it didn't come down somewhere in Johnstown," he added.
The congressman made his remarks via telephone during a brief press conference at the Cambria County Airport. Murtha is scheduled to arrive at the airport this morning and then travel to the crash scene.
Airport air traffic manager Dennis Fritz said the large airplane was never visible from the airport’s control tower, despite reports that it passed within 15 miles of the airport, descending at 6,000 feet.
"It had to be very low on the ridge line for us not to be able to see it,” he said. "You should be able to see, from 15 to 20 miles away, an aircraft that size."
Moments earlier, the tower received a call from the FAA Control Center in Cleveland, Ohio, indicating the plane was not under center control and was "doing unusual maneuvers at a low level," he said.
The airport was unable to establish radio contact with the plane before it crashed about 14 miles south in a field in Lambertsville.
Radar showed the San Francisco-bound United Airlines Flight 93 from Newark, N.J., had nearly reached Cleveland when it made a sharp left turn and headed back toward Pennsylvania, according to the Associated Press.
Airport Director Joe McKelvey said the airport was placed under a full security alert and closed following the accident. Twelve other aircraft landed on the tarmac during the day.
The airport was accepting only certain aircraft Tuesday afternoon, among them a state police aircraft and United Airlines jetliner. The airline officials were transporting equipment from the plane to the crash scene in rental trucks, according to McKelvey.
Murtha called the Tuesday’s acts "a barbaric attack by fanatic people.
"We are committed to locating them and retaliating as quickly as we can," he said.
The congressman called from outside the Capitol, where he said he could still see the smoke billowing from the Pentagon. Murtha said the pungent smell from the charred remains was reminiscent of Vietnam during the war.
"This was certainly a tragic day," he said.
The attack "took a slice" out of the Pentagon and caused five floors to cave, Murtha said. Preliminary estimates put the damage at as much as $350 million, he added.
Murtha speculated the planes were taken because they were on cross-country trips and were swelled with fuel, which could cause the same damage as smuggled explosives.
The congressman said he hoped Tuesday’s events would not push the country closer to a police state. "It's almost distasteful (already) that you can't get into the Capitol without going through metal detectors," he said.
Local schools, businesses react to tragedy
By JENNIFER THOMAS, Daily American Staff Writer,
As news that a commercial flight had crashed in Somerset County near Shanksville spread, school administrators and businesses were faced with the issue of safety and whether to remain open or close their doors.
Dr. Michael Dillon, executive of the Appalachia Intermediate Unit 8, which serves Somerset County and Blair, Bedford, Cambria counties, called the emergency management agency and recommended that schools not be released early so children would not be going home to empty houses. But the decision was being made at each individual school.
Several hours after the crash three local school districts made the decision to dismiss early, sending students home to family.
In the Rockwood School District, superintendent Andy Demidont said the school took the advice of local law enforcement.
“We had spoken to the local fire department and as a precautionary measure to them they requested that we dismiss.”
Dr. John Baraniak, superintendent of the Somerset School District said the district waited until 12:30 to begin dismissing students to make sure they could get home safety and that someone would be home to meet them.
“I wanted to make sure that if we did leave the students out we could get them home safely,” he said. “I wanted to think both sides through before making a decision.”
Baraniak said the district has a close working relationship with the borough police and they recommended dismissing the students.
He commends the teachers and administration for their help in trying to keep things as normal as possible.
Classes also released early at Allegany Community College’s Somerset Campus.
In the Shanksville-Stonycreek School District, which is closest to the crash site, classes continued. If they wished, parents could pick their children up at the school to bring them home.
Others also made the tough decision to keep students in class, but moving education forward on as usual was a challenge.
“Almost impossible,” said North Star superintendent J. Pat Terlingo. “And probably every school in the US would feel the same way.”
He said the day was full of questions, from students, teachers, parents and even himself as to why the events occurred.
Terlingo said the district made the decision to stay in school for a number of reasons, but the most important on being that to dismiss early would send more than half of the district’s students home to empty houses. He said parents had the option of picking students up themselves if they wanted.
He also said emergency management recommended keeping students until their regular time.
“It was a very hard decision to make,” he said. “If we were going to err we were going to err on the side of safety he said.”
Preparing to respond to the plane crash, Somerset Hospital discontinued all elective procedures Tuesday until further notice. According to Greg Chiappelli,spokesperson for Somerset Hospital, the hospital will go back to normal operations today and elective operations will go on as scheduled. People who had elective procedures canceled Tuesday will have them rescheduled.
Chiappelli also asked that people donate blood. He said the hospital is in the process of setting up a station for people who want to donate blood.
A number of blood drives have already been scheduled. The first is scheduled for Sept. 13 at Gilmour Manufacturing from 12:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.; Sept. 17 at the Berlin Community building from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m.; Sept. 19 at Seven Springs Mountain Resort Fox Den from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. and at Rockwood’s St. Luke’s Lutheran Church from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m.
Government offices responded by closing and a number of businesses also made a similar decision. In Conemaugh Township the Municipal Authority shut down. The Galleria closed early Tuesday morning after the area around the Cambria County Airport was cordoned off. Both Verizon and AT&T wireless closed their doors. The Windber and Somerset County libraries closed.
In Somerset, the Factory Shops at Georgian Place, Gilmour Manufacturing, Somerset Furniture Sales, Fleetwood Folding Trailers and the Somerset Historical Center were all closed.
Branches of Promistar and Ameriserve Banks also closed for the afternoon.
A message at Ameriserve Financial said the bank closed as a “precautionary measure, not an emergency closing.” It also said the bank plans to reopen tomorrow.
As the community deals with the aftermath of this tragedy religious services are being planned. A prayer service will be held in response tomorrow at Friedens Lutheran Church at 7:15 p.m.
School sports schedules uncertain in wake of attacks
By BRADLEY KEIM
Daily American Sports Writer
Tuesday's tragic incidents, including the crash of a passenger jet near Shanksville, caused Somerset County area schools to postpone all scheduled sporting events for the day. While most schools plan to be in session today, whether their sporting events carry on as normal is up in the air.
"There were no practices and there were no games, we completely canceled all after-school activities," said Windber athletic director Ralph DeMarco. “At this time we’re going to try to go to school (today) and run things as normally as we possibly can under the circumstances."
Like Windber, Conemaugh Township students stayed in school until their normal dismissal time Tuesday and canceled extracurricular events including a home boys and girls soccer doubleheader against Westmont.
"The top thing (Tuesday) was to make sure all the kids were safe and that they got home ... and they did,"Conemaugh Township schools superintendent Jerry Davitch said.
"I think most of us are going to wake up (today) feeling worse ... following the complete tragedy of (Tuesday’s) events. I would not be surprised at all if all athletic events across the country are canceled though this weekend, at the national, collegiate and local levels. ... At the high school level I think there's going to be a lot of soul-searching, especially in the short run, about priorities."
DeMarco agreed that after-school activities, including weekend football games, do not top anyone's list of priorities.
"The game is not the most important thing right now," he said, adding that schools will likely take a wait-and-see approach.
"I don’t have an answer," DeMarco said as to whether events would continue as scheduled. "I don’t think the state government, the federal government hasn't said we’re going to do this, thisor this, so locally you do the best you can."
"As of now we’re just hanging in here and watching what happens,” Salisbury AD Marty Kemp said. "We're just going to play it by ear," he added as for the rest of the week.
Shanksville, whose school district covers the crash site, postponed its home volleyball match Tuesday but has no other regularly scheduled home sporting events this week.
"We don't know what’s going on at our school from this point on," Shanksville AD Jeff Kimmel said.
Somerset AD Jason Ablon said "I'm not even sure if we will have school," today but did say Wednesday’s schedule might still go on as planned.
Meyersdale did not have any events scheduled for today.
Most would agree that having a jet crash, apparently at the hands of terrorists, in Somerset County was too close for comfort.
"When that happened that kind of hit home,” said Kemp.
Tuesday’s attacks also hit close to home for Davitch whose sons are both involved with the U.S. Air Force. One is an Air Force Academy student and the other is a member of the Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps.
"It certainly brings it all a lot closer," Davitch said.
posted 8 p.m.
International terror touches Somerset County
By SANDRA LEPLEY
Daily American Staff Writer
Somerset County was drawn into a international catastrophe when a Boeing 757 airplane crashed into a former strip mine site outside of Lambertsville in Stonycreek Township on Tuesday morning. All people aboard the plane, 38 passengers and 7 crew members, were believed to be dead.
The Boeing 757 crash was one of four reported Tuesday by United and American airlines. Two jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City and one hit the Pentagon in Washington. Police officials believe this crash in Somerset County is related to the other terrorist attacks.
The United Airline plane, flying from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco, Calif.,crashed into a field alongside a wooded area at about 10 a.m. in what appears to be a hijacking incident.
The hijacking panic in the air was recorded just before the crash at 9:58 a.m. when a a man who said he was a passenger locked in a bathroom aboard United Flight 93 called the 911 on his cell phone and repeatedly told officials the call was not a hoax.
"We are being hijacked, we are being hijacked!" dispatch supervisor Glenn Cramer from Westmoreland County quoted the man from a transcript of the call.
The man told dispatchers the plane "was going down. He heard some sort of explosion and saw white smoke coming from the plane and we lost contact with him," Cramer said.
FBI agent Wells Morrison, the special agent on scene who is handling media questions, wouldn’t confirm that the plane was hijacked, but said the FBI was reviewing the tape of the 911 call.
"At this point, we’re not prepared to say it was an act of terrorism, though it appears to be that," Morrison said.
Rep. James Moran, D-Va., said after a Marine Corps briefing in Washington that Flight 93 was apparently intended for Camp David, the presidential retreat in the mountains of Maryland. The crash site was 85 miles northwest of Camp David.
For Lee Purbaugh, 31, of Listie, the thought of seeing a plane crash right before his eyes still seemed unbelievable to him when interviewed a half-hour later.
"I never in my life thought I would see a plane crash right before my very eyes," said Purbaugh, who was at the wreckage within minutes after the crash.
Purbaugh's second day on the job at Rollock Inc., a scrap metal company who owns the Diamond T mine, a former PBS mining site directly above the crash site, came with a shocking surprise. The crash happened within 200 yards of Purbaugh’s view.
"I happened to hear this noise and looked up," said Purbaugh, who indicated the plane was about 40 to 50 feet above him. "I didn't know if I should duck or what because this plane was so low but then in a split second it hit."
Purbaugh describes the crash as "just like a big mushroom cloud." He says when it hit, it "shook the ground, rolled over in some way and then collapsed." The crash site itself didn’t look like an airplane had crashed. From a distance, it seemed like a crater in the ground with smoke coming from it.
Purbaugh thought at first it was just a cargo plane carrying some mail because when he ran up to the actual scene, he didn’t notice any carnage, just some mail around. He also noticed a bookbag. He said the pine trees right next to the sight were on fire from the explosion and the fire was also spreading through the woods.
"I knew about the world trade center at that time but I never expected something like this," said Purbaugh. "There was scattered debris everywhere, some in large chunks, but nothing you could identify. I’m just shocked it happened here."
Mark Stahl of Somerset, who went to the scene immediately afterwards, says, "there's a crater gorged in the earth, the plane is pretty much disintegrated. There's nothing left but scorched trees."
Michael R. Merringer was out on a mountain bike ride with his wife, Amy, about two miles away from the crash site.
"I heard the engine gun two different times and then I heard a loud bang and the windows of the houses all around rattled," Merringer said. "I looked up and I saw the smoke coming up."
The couple rushed home and drove near the scene.
"Everything was on fire and there was trees knocked down and there was a big hole in the ground," he said.
Purbaugh, Stahl and the Merringers were at the site before state police crews and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrived to secure the entire area as a crime site. All media representatives at the site were directed to leave the scene immediately or be arrested. Police helicopter crews circled overhead every few minutes. Within a few hours, a blitz of media crews were camped out by a cornfield off Little Prarie Lane in Stonycreek Township. More than 100 local, national and international print, television and radio media waited for hourly updates from state police and FBI.
"We are preserving this as a crime scene until we determine whether or not it is an act of terrorism in relationship to what happened in the United States today," said Morrison, the FBI agent in charge of the investigation. Morrison indicated that "scores" of other FBI agents will be coming to Somerset from Pennsylvania and other parts of the country to continue the investigation that may end up taking several days or weeks. He said that the agents will be taking some time to get there because air travel is not allowed.
Morrison said everything must be thoroughly documented if recovered from the crash site. He says that is why the FBI and State Police, in addition to firefighters and other crews, are working together in a "methodical way."
According to Dave Fox, the local liaison for emergency management, fire crews from Shanksville, Stoystown, Friedens, Listie, Somerset, Central City, Berlin and Hooversville, as well as Somerset Ambulance, were on scene helping with the clean-up.
State Police Trooper Lyle Szupinka, Area 3 commander, who gave hourly updates to media people, described the whole incident as a "great tragedy." Szupinka says all agencies are well working together to corral the site and preserve the evidence.
He says that eyewitnesses to the crash are being questioned and if anyone happened to be an eyewitness to the crash or otherwise, please call state police in Somerset at 445-4104.
American Red Cross director of Special Events, Chestnut Ridge Chapter, Kristina Dulashaw, explained that an incident like this takes everyone's "collaboration." She worked as a Red Cross representative during the plane crash incident at Aliquippa, Hopewell Township, on Sept. 8, 1994.
"One of our main concerns is the family members and providing any needed mental health services to them when and if they arrive," says Dulashaw. "Our volunteers are trained professionals with experience at handling these kind of traumatic situations."
Betsy Mallison, a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) who is representing the Pennsylvania Emergency Management at the scene, remembers the horrific plane crash in Hopewell Township in September of 1994.
"I never thought I’d see another one (crash) in my lifetime," says Mallison. "I never wanted to ever see another crash in my lifetime."
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
posted 4:25
Emergency crews coordinate crash response
By VICKI ROCK
Daily American Staff Writer
A former state police trooper saw United Airlines Flight 93 shortly before it crashed near Shanksville.
Larry Williams, who is now a private investigator in Boswell, was golfing on the 17th green at Oakbrook Golf Course about eight miles away when he heard the engines “roar real loud and shut off."
The plane banked, then gained altitude, turned left and then went straight down, he said. It landed in a coal strip mine field.
"There was no fire or smoke, it was just like the engines shut off," Williams said. "I told the guys I was golfing with that plane's a commercial flight. It sounds like it's in trouble. I thought it was trying to head to the Johnstown Airport. I didn't see anything after that."
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency said the Boeing 757 was en route from Newark, N.J. to San Francisco. There were 45 people on board and no survivors. The plane was being monitored by the FAA Control Center in Cleveland, Ohio, which lost contact at 35,000 feet.
Allegheny County sent an air search crew to verify that a crash occurred, according to Somerset County Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes, who was serving as media coordinator. State police and all emergency services crews from Somerset and Fayette counties responded to the scene with assistance from Westmoreland and Cambria counties. The FBI, National Transportation Safety Board, and FAA went to the scene. Dave Fox, from the emergency management office, was at the scene serving as media coordinator there.
Richard Lohr, director of Somerset County Emergency Management, said Cambria and Fayette county 911 centers sent people to the Somerset center to assist in handling calls. The City of Pittsburgh sent paramedics here. The top floor of the parking garage was closed to be used as a staging area.
Artis Kitchens and Barry Shaffer, members of the Somerset County Amateur Radio Club, were in the emergency management conference room to establish communications between emergency management agency, the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
"We'll also send amateur radio operators to the scene to help with communications there," Kitchens said. "We want to make sure there's plenty of communications in the fields. We did the same for the tornadoes and floods."
District Attorney Jerry Spangler said because of problems with telephones, state Attorney General Mike Fisher e-mailed him and asked him to call with information.
Don Barclay, Bedford-Somerset Mental Health/Mental Retardation Agency, went to the 911 center to say mental health teams were available to meet with emergency crews.
State Rep. Bob Bastian (R-69th District) issued the following statement: "Our thoughts and prayers are with those who lost their lives in the tragic events of Tuesday in New York City, Washington, D.C. and right here in our own backyard."
"Because we have become the world's policeman we are hated by many in the world, but I would hope that before we start pointing fingers of blame, all of us need to stand behind our President, pray for him and for those who lost their lives and their families’ terrible loss."
He asked people to donate blood for the New York City and Washington, D.C. areas are in need of large amounts of blood.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected," Bastian said.
News of the airplane crashes in New York prompted officials at SCI-Laurel Highlands, one of the county’s two state prisons, to order a full-scale lockdown of the facility.
Prisoners were locked in their cells and inmates who were outside the facility on work details were brought back inside, according to public information officer Betsy Nightingale.
Nightingale said the lockdown was lifted around 2 p.m.
The prison continued to operate as it would on a holiday with minimal staffing, she added, meaning there was limited movement of the prison’s 412 inmates.
The county's other state prison, SCI-Somerset, could not be reached by telephone. SCI-Somerset has just under 2,000 inmates
posted 2:00 p.m.
45 die in jet crash
By VICKI ROCK, Daily American Staff Writer,
A jet crashed near Shanksville, Somerset County, about 10 a.m. Tuesday killing its 45 passengers.
Larry Williams, a former state police trooper who is now a private investigator, was golfing on the 17th green at Oakbrook Golf Course about eight miles away when he heard the engines "roar real loud and shut off."
The plane banked, then gained altitude, turned left and then went straight down, he said. It landed in a coal strip mine field.
"There was no fire or smoke, it was just like the engines shut off," Williams said. "I told the guys I was golfing with that plane's a commercial flight. It sounds like it's in trouble. I thought it was trying to head to the Johnstown Airport. I didn't see anything after that."
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency said the United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757, was en route from Newark, N.J. to San Francisco. There were 45 people on board and no survivors. The plane was being monitored by the FAA Control Center in Cleveland, Ohio, which lost contact at 35,000 feet.
Allegheny County sent an air search crew to verify the crash, according to Somerset County Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes, who was serving as media coordinator. All emergency services crews from Somerset and Fayette counties responded to the scene with assistance from Westmoreland and Cambria counties.
Emergency crews respond to the scene of an airplane crash Tuesday morning near Shanksville, Somerset County, Pa. A United Airlines Boeing 757 traveling from Newark N.J. to San Francisco, Calif. crashed into a coal strip mine.
It was reported that a total of 45 persons were on board. There were no survivors. (Photo by Dave Escherch/ Daily American) Dave Fox, from the emergency management office, was at the scene serving as media coordinator there.
Richard Lohr, director of Somerset County Emergency Management, said Cambria and Fayette county 911 centers sent people to the Somerset center to assist in handling calls. The top floor of the parking garage was closed to be used as a staging area.
Dr. Michael Dillon, executive of the Appalachia Intermediate Unit 8, which serves Somerset County and Blair, Bedford, Cambria counties, called the emergency management agency and recommended that schools not be released early so children would not be going home to empty houses. But the decision was being made at each individual school.
District Attorney Jerry Spangler said because of problems with telephones, state Attorney General Mike Fisher e-mailed him and asked him to call with information. The FBI went to the scene.
Don Barclay, Bedford-Somerset Mental Health/Mental Retardation Agency, went to the 911 center to say mental health teams were available to meet with emergency crews.
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Beaven, of Oakland, Calif., moved to the United States from New Zealand in 1985. As an environmental lawyer, his first case was against oil giant Mobil.
Although he lost the case, Gillett said the matter gave his friend the experience he needed to thrive as an environmental lawyer. His wife said Alan was hoping to ply his trade in India, to resolve environmental problems there, during his sabbatical.
"He loved a challenge," one said.
Beaven and his wife met in India, and celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary on the day before the plane crashed.
"We were very much in love; very excited about the future," his wife said.
When asked, Mrs. Beaven said she had no regrets about things she might have said to her husband or the thoughts he could have shared with her prior to his untimely death.
Family members said they were not contacted by Alan during the flight. "He didn't believe in cell phones or computers," John said.
But all believed he helped the other passengers bring the plane down where it could do the least damage.
"We all envision him fighting to the last," Gillett said. "If he felt something was wrong, he would take action."
Family members said the tragedy has unified the country like nothing else has been able to do.
They expressed appreciation for the "love and generosity" of the people here, including state police troopers who saluted them at the crash site. One expressed hope for the future.
"I think he wanted to watch his children grow up" Chris said. "I really don't think it's too late for that."
Firefighter with local ties among N.Y. victims [internally datable as Fri., September 21,]
By VICKI ROCK
Daily American Staff Writer
NEW YORK CITY - Mike Warchola, 51, was retiring at the end of this month. A lieutenant of Ladder Co. 5 of the Fire Department of New York, he was one of the firemen to rush to the scene of the first plane crash at the World Trade Center.
The men of No. 5 and 24 were among the first to respond. They pulled their fire trucks right up to the north tower and headed up the "A" stairwell. The men of Co. 24 made it up 37 floors, carrying heavy equipment, said Marcel Claes of Engine No. 24, and got an urgent message to come down. Co. 5 was up higher.
Warchola and seven others of Ladder Co. 5 perished. Denis, his brother, is also a captain in the fire department. He was not in the building when it collapsed. He helped with rescue efforts and worked to find his brother's body which was recovered Sept. 15.
Warchola's father, Michael, is still living. His mother, Norah, is deceased. He has two children, Aaron and Amy Warchola, both in their 20s. His aunt and uncle, Bernard and Dorothy (Warchola) Oravec live in Johnstown. A cousin, Paul Warchola, is also a New York fireman. He was not injured.
"Denis is younger than Mike, and there's an age difference with me, but they'd come visit us and we'd go there," his cousin, Bernie Oravec, Johnstown, said. "They weren't used to the woods and we'd go out and put crab apples on sticks and fling them around. They'd take crab apples and sticks back to New York."
Mike and Denis loved the fire department, Oravec said.
"Mike was very nice, an active guy, athletic," he said. "Both Mike and Denis were very active in the fire department."
Oravec's parents received a call from Warchola's father who was visited by the parents of a rookie fireman. That rookie was on the truck with the others of the company, but Warchola wouldn't let him go in the building. He ordered him to leave, saving his life.
His funeral is today (Friday). Only one cousin will go from this area because of the difficulty getting in to New York now, Oravec said. His uncle suggested the others visit later.
The family is asking for donations to NYC Bravest Scholarship Fund, c/o Uniformed Fire Officers Assoc., 225 Broadway, Suit 401, New York, N.Y. 10007; or the NYCPD Burn Center.
Flight 93 made America stronger -- Lynne Cheney [posted Friday, Sept. 21,]
By SANDRA LEPLEY
Daily American Staff Writer
An infant gently cooed at times and its mother patted it upon her shoulder while a hushed crowd of family members gathered Thursday at Indian Lake Lodge for a memorial service for their loved ones who died aboard Flight 93.
"They are a source of strength for all of us," said Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, in reference to the family members, as she spoke to reporters after a moving service for which she served as the main speaker. "In all the places where tragedy has struck, do not forget the mother who has a three-month-old baby."
It is that cooing three-month-old infant, who will never know its father, and the now young widowed mother, and other family members with tragic stories, who Lynne Cheney wants the world to remember in the weeks and months to come.
She offered genuine sympathy and heartfelt gratitude to the second wave of about 100 family members that came from the East Coast and the West Coast and all over the United States. Earlier this week, more than 240 family members attended a service on Monday while first lady Laura Bush spoke on the public golf course at Indian Lake.
"Your loved ones' lives were cut short, and we mourn with you," said Mrs. Cheney during the service. "We are so sorry. But all of America is trying to turn that sorrow into something good. We are talking to those we don’t hear from often enough. We are putting aside our problems and trying to help others. We are stopping to think about what really matters during the time we have on this earth."
More than 30 news organizations were at Indian Lake on Thursday; however, only a handful of reporters were taken to the private memorial service, including the Daily American.
"The journey you face is unique in many ways, but you are not alone. All of America is with you," said Mrs. Cheney to the crowd. Wearing a green dress suit, she was backdropped by a windowed wall behind her overlooking trees with the first hints of fall foliage, and on the inside, the local firefighters and emergency support crews dressed in pressed uniforms were among those Americans who shared in their grief.
"The men and women of Flight 93 were brave in a way few of us will even be called on to be, and they have inspired us," she said. "I hope it is some comfort to you that your loved ones have made us better. They have made this country better, spurring us to think anew of why we love this land. Every tear that is shed when we sing 'America the Beautiful' or 'God Bless America' is a tribute to those you have loved and lost."
Mrs. Cheney concluded: "Someday we shall all join our dear ones who have gone before, but for now, whenever we see beauty, we will think of their beautiful souls. When we witness kindness, when we hear of heroism, we will remember them. And when we try ourselves to show regard for others and when we try ourselves to be brave, we will be creating the truest memorial for those who died on Flight 93."
After Mrs. Cheney spoke, Linda French, the national chair of the Red Cross Disaster Services, spoke to the crowd and perhaps, best explained what the impact of this extraordinary situation has meant for Somerset Countians.
"This is a gorgeous land and it seems to us that this would be a fitting place, that if it had to be, for this to be the final resting place of our loved ones," said French, describing the "rolling hills to the mountaintops to the lush green forests" here in Somerset County.
French described the people here as "resilient and hardy but more than that, they are reverent and very respectful." She said that when everyone is gone from here, the people of Somerset County will "take care of this land."
After the service, French spoke to reporters and related in detail how the makeshift memorial near the crash site looks. Reporters have not been allowed near the memorial since family members have placed momentos there on Monday.
French says tributes to the passengers of Flight 93 have been placed upon a row of hay bales. Items such as teddy bears, a flight jacket, flowers, photographs and small momentos have been reported to have been placed there.
"It's almost overwhelming the outpouring of care and compassion for one another (when family members are at the memorial)," said French afterwards. "Obviously, there are a lot of tears being shed there. You honestly get the feeling this is hallowed ground."
French communicated to the worldwide press afterwards that Somerset County "is a close community, it is very rural and I have every confidence that these people here will safeguard this sites always."
Seven ton flag comes to Jennerstown
By MIKE O’BRIEN,Daily American Staff Writer,
One of the largest American flags in the world will be unfurled at the Jennerstown Speedway on Monday as part of a patriotic tribute to the heroes of United Flight 93.
The flag will arrive this Sunday, and will be open for public display at 9 a.m. on Monday morning. A candlelight vigil will be held around the flag at sundown, according to its owner, Ted Dorfman.
Dorfman, a financial adviser from Greensburg, said the flag weighs approximately 15,000 lbs and will require approximately 150 volunteers to unfold it. The massive symbol of America’s freedom measures 400 feet in length and 210 feet in width and covers two acres of land when unfurled.
The flag will be displayed in the parking lot of the speedway, according to Dorfman. There is no charge for admission to view the flag, but there will be opportunities to make donations to local and national relief efforts.
According to Dorfman, the flag was originally constructed in 1979, at a price tag of $1 million. It was planned to hang from the Verrazano Bridge in New York City, but bridge engineers later determined that the flag presented too much of a structural hazard to the bridge itself. The flag was packed up and began a long succession of changing owners.
The flag has appeared at many patriotic events throughout the past two decades, including a showing at a Flag Day event in New York City. It has also been shown to commemorate the return of 52 American hostages in 1981 and the return of the military after the Persian Gulf war in 1991.
Dorfman’s connection to the flag began on July 4 of this year, when he said he was watching a History Channel program that featured a story about the flag. The program also mentioned that the flag was being auctioned off, so Dorfman decided to put in a bid with its then-current owner, the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Museum in Hutchison, Kansas. One of only a few bidders, Dorfman was awarded the flag.
"I've never actually seen it unfurled before, so we're all kind of keeping our fingers crossed and hoping it's still in good condition," Dorfman said. The flag has been sitting its trailer for the last five years, Dorfman said.
Dorfman said that approximately 150 volunteers will be on hand on Sunday to begin the arduous task of unfolding the massive fabric, and Maxim Cranes has donated the use of its cranes to help with the unfolding process. Volunteers are still needed to re-fold the flag on Tuesday.
'If you can come help us on Tuesday morning, please wear soft-soled shoes and bring plenty of (drinking) water, because that flag’s heavy," Dorfman said.
Volunteers are asked to arrive at the speedway at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
"I'm just proud to be an American, and this seems like the right thing to do, especially for all the heroes aboard that flight and their families as well," he said. "It's really just a labor of love," he added.
More than 70 agencies involved in Flight 93 crash investigation [Thursday, Sept. 20]
By MIKE O’BRIEN, Daily American Staff Writer,
STOYSTOWN --Nearly 100 Shanksville residents packed the meeting room at Camp Allegheny Wednesday night to hear from representatives of the agencies investigating the nearby crash site of United Flight 93.
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Somerset County Coroner's office were among the agencies represented in the panel, and all expressed their appreciation for the public's help over the last week.
State Rep. Bob Bastian addressed the crowd first and told them that Gov. Tom Ridge has offered "the state's full resources" to help deal with what Bastian called "the event that changed the complexion of the world."
Somerset County commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes expressed her gratitude to the countless Shanksville residents who have shown their support to recovery workers and the victims' family members by displaying flags and messages of prayer and condolence.
"Over the past week, you have personified the very best that Somerset County has to offer," she said.
Tokar-Ickes also offered the commissioners’ continued support for Shanksville residents.
"We (the commissioners) have pledged to work side by side with you until all of our work is done," she said.
Bill Crowley, a Federal Bureau of Investigations agent based in Pittsburgh, said that half of all FBI agents nationwide are currently working on the investigation, as well as every agent in the FBI's Pittsburgh office. He said the investigation is "going very well," but cautioned that it may be years before they see the fruit of their labors.
Somerset County Coroner Wallace Miller, whose presence at the crash site has been nearly constant since last Tuesday morning, referred to the crash site as "sacred ground" and promised to preserve the dignity and memory of the crash victims,
Miller also said that 74 different agencies have been involved in some aspect of the recovery efforts. He also said that 1,118 people were currently working on the site.
DEP hydrogeologist Dave Bomba assured concerned residents that the crime did not adversely affect Indian Lake's water supply. Bomba also told the audience that his agency has begun testing soil and water samples from near the crash site to check for toxic materials that may have seeped in as a result of the crash. Bomba said the first samples have been tested and found to be clean.
NTSB official Don Chupp, who works with victims families, relayed a message of thanks from the people who lost loved ones aboard the ill-fated airliner.
"I hope you all know and understand how much your kindness means to the families of the victims of United Flight 93," Chupp said.
Family of Flight 93 victim thanks community [Wed. Press Conference, Thursday, Sept. 20]
By BRIAN SCHROCK
Daily American Staff Writer
CHAMPION -- The heavens opened and rain fell Wednesday night, matching the tears of a father who lost his son aboard doomed United Flight 93.
Jerry Bingham used the cameras and notepads of the assembled media at Seven Springs Mountain Resort not to recount the life of his son Mark, but to thank strangers, people seemingly without names, for their kindness and support.
"In a time like this, you need all the friends, all the caring, all the love you can gather. And they've shown that here, in this town of Somerset and Shanksville ... I don't know all the places. I don't know all the people. But it's certainly appreciated' he said.
Bingham had thanks for many, from Red Cross workers and Girl Scouts to airline officials and those who have proudly waved the American flag.
"I just wanted to say that it all helps," said Bingham, of Wildwood, Fla. "When you have that much love coming from so many people, it makes your grief so much easier" to bear.
Bingham's son Mark, a 31-year-old from San Francisco, was one of 44 who died when the plane was hijacked and crashed into a farm field outside Shanksville. He was one of four passengers who made cell phone calls from the airplane during the hijacking.
The calls suggested the passengers planned to seize control of the jet from the hijackers and prevent the plane from becoming a missile like the ones that toppled the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon.
Bingham said his son doesn’t deserve to be singled out as a hero any more than the other passengers aboard the plane.
He described Mark only as a man large in stature, 6 feet 5 inches to be exact, who played rugby and was one not to sit on the sidelines.
"If you knew him, you loved him. And that's it," he said.
Bingham said visiting the wreckage in western Pennsylvania is the closest he can get to his son.
"This is what we have. This is where the plane went down. This is all we have," he said. "This is where my son died and we have to accept that."
Bingham and his wife, Mark's stepmother, Karen Bingham, were greeted at the press conference by Lee Purbaugh, who was on the ground along with seven co-workers when the plane crashed.
The Listie man was working in a scrap yard, on only his second day on the job, when the plane flew overhead.
The Listie man was working in a scrap yard, on only his second day on the job, when the plane flew overhead.
He said the plane missed a tank filled with liquid oxygen by only 20 feet, before swaying and plummeting into the earth about 300 yards away. The collision triggered a massive fireball.
"I was shocked. As soon as I saw it I ran down. I knew there wouldn't be any survivors," Purbaugh said.
"I was shocked. As soon as I saw it I ran down. I knew there wouldn't be any survivors," Purbaugh said.
Purbaugh said he came to the resort Wednesday night to thank the family and offer his condolences.
"I thanked him," he said. "I know everybody on that plane was a hero. If it had been any lower, I wouldn't be here right now."
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., introduced legislation Wednesday to salute the passengers and crew members of Flight 93 with Congress' highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal.
"They really saved the Capitol so we ought to express our appreciation. All indications are that the plane, and — this is speculation — was headed for the U.S. Capitol. The Capitol is the symbol of our nation," he said.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., is sponsoring another measure in the House that would award the medal to the four passengers, saying their heroic acts have been documented in the cell phone conversations.
The passengers were Bingham, Todd Beamer, Tom Burnett and Jeremy Glick.
Coroner works with families to identify victims of Flight 93 [Thursday, September 20th]
By SANDRA LEPLEY, Daily American Staff Writer,
Somerset County Coroner, Wallace Miller, believes the site where the United Flight 93 went down outside of Shanksville will be of "national historical significance" because those who died on the Boeing 757 were "American heroes."
Miller took time out of a very hectic schedule Wednesday to talk to The Daily American. This local coroner has been thrust into the national spotlight with recent events but he remains with his modesty in tact. He is responsible for all human remains being excavated from the crash site where United Flight 93 went down on that ill-fated day everyone remembers, 9-11-01. He has set up his headquarters for a task of this immensity at the National Guard Armory in Friedens, which is also serving as the temporary morgue.
"There is no doubt that this will be one of the most visited sites nationwide," predicts Miller. "It won't only be all important to the family members but it's a sacred spot in the nation's hearts because these people saved one of our national landmarks."
Miller says last Tuesday came as a surprise to him just as it had for the rest of Somerset Countians who learned that their area was brought into the national arena.
He remembers being in his office, getting some bills ready and planning to go uptown to the post office, when his assistant told him that the World Trade Center had been struck by a hijacked plane. Then, someone called to ask him if he needed any assistance at the crash site near Shanksville, and he thought it was a hoax.
"I told the person who called 'you really shouldn't be joking at a time like this' when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon had been attacked by a plane, and then I hung up and tried to call 911 to find out any information. I couldn't get through and that's when it struck me. Luckily, I had a county band radio and called in and found out it was true. I was out there immediately," he remembers.
It was learned later that day that the Boeing 757 that crashed in Shanksville was one of four planes on suicide missions, but was the only one not to hit a high-profile landmark. Two hit the World Trade Center in New York City and one hit the Pentagon.
"It was something I'll never forget in my life," remembers Miller. "We (in Somerset County) found out the hard way that we are not far from trouble. We live in peaceful surroundings, a country atmosphere, but the wolf is never far from the door."
Miller says when he got to the crash site that day there was nothing there that would have implicated a plane crash had just happened, except for the smell of jet fuel.
"I never dreamed a 757 crashed there because as I walked up through, there wasn’t anything recognizable, just some gears and clumps of metal," he says. "It was incomprehensible that a terrorist plane crashed in Somerset County."
Miller explained that his first step in this investigation was to request information from families, mainly because the major impact of the plane into the earth caused extreme fragmentation of human remains. That information came in the form of dental records or any DNA samples, which could have been blood samples from the family members themselves or personal belongings, such as saliva from a toothbrush or hair from a comb.
"DNA will be one of the main ways to identify the remains," says Miller. He said the DNA identification process may take months. It will be done at a government lab in Washington D.C.
Out at the crash site, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is sifting through dirt and looking for three basic elements: Aircraft, personal belongings and human remains. When found, the human remains are turned over to coroner Miller to be bagged and taken back to the morgue.
Because it is a federal crime scene and with family members living on both coasts, his part in the investigation has been lengthened somewhat. So far, he has issued the presumptive death certificates and hopes this is a way the family members will begin to get "closure" to this horrific event.
In addition, Miller makes it a point to meet with every family member personally. On Monday, when several family members arrived at Seven Springs Resort and then went to the crash site for a memorial, he visited with the family members later that day.
"We treat these remains with the ultimate dignity and respect. These people are not only American heroes but also they are human beings who had families and we are very aware of that," he stresses. "We strive to protect the privacy of the deceased and their families. I've always stress family members first."
Miller predicts that by sometime next week, the FBI will release the site to his jurisdiction and when that happens, Miller wants to make sure every effort possible has been exhausted to completely clean that site of human remains. He is overseeing a staff of morticians and forensic scientists, both locally and from as far away as Texas, including the Department of Mortuary Operational Response Team (D-MORT).
He emphatically explained on Wednesday that the emergency personnel, Keystone Chapter of the American Red Cross, local fire departments, ambulance crew and local state police units have been "integral parts of the whole process."
"Somerset County should be proud of how they responded and how they are handling this tragedy," he says. "It's an honor to be representing these folks."
Investigators continue searching for evidence [Sept. 19th or 20th]
By SANDRA LEPLEY
Daily American Staff Writer
As predicted, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) continues to excavate the crash crater one week after a Boeing 757 went down near Shanksville on the morning of Sept. 11.
The media village, located along Prairie Run Lane off Lambertsville Road, had been full of reporters and photographers from around the world last week, but now dwindled down to a few local news crews remaining.
Jeff Killeen, special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Pittsburgh, spoke from his office in Pittsburgh on Tuesday and explained that "the major effort here has been done."
"Most of the wreckage has been pulled from the crater and the investigators are going through the evidence," says Killeen. The morgue for the human remains of the 45 victims is set up at the National Guard Armory in Friedens. The wreckage, however, is being taken to another undisclosed location nearby, says Killeen.
The flight data recorder and the voice cockpit recorder, both found last week, went immediately to Washington D.C. for analysis. The information from these devices will be released in Washington, D.C.
"We were mostly looking for the black boxes and other tangible evidence we can get our hands on to point to who committed the crime," Killeen stated. "The major thrust of the investigation, from an investigative standpoint, was obtaining the black boxes. It's one of the most important aspects."
He said the investigators in Washington, D.C., are in the process of listening to the tape on the voice cockpit recorder to find out what happened but he has not heard anything regarding the recording on Flight 93.
Killeen said that the FBI is looking for any other physical evidence, such as any personal belongings of the hijackers from documents to clothing fibers.
"The investigation developments will be reported here but the investigation results reported in Washington D.C.," advised Killeen. He said the investigation is "ongoing" so the FBI would not want to release any information that might impinge the investigation.
He explained that the crews are continuing to pull remains of victims and are basically "sifting through" all material in the crater and then sorting it out elsewhere. He says that excavation into the crater will be ongoing until the crews stop finding aircraft parts.
"This was such a high speed impact with devastating results," he says. "There is no fuselage or wings to identify. It’s bits and pieces and many cubic yards of dirt, rock and debris to sift through."
He predicts that the FBI and state police will be on site for about another week or so until the investigation has been completed.
National tragedies lead to large sales of American flags
By VICKI ROCK, Daily American Staff Writer,
Flags of All Kinds, a flag supplier in East Palestine, Ohio, has an answering machine with the message, “We are out of American flags of all sizes” and that is the story you hear from retailers as people try to buy them.
Jim Jordan, Doherty’s Hardware, Somerset, said that his store is out of flags. It had 60. More are on order.
"Until the tragedy last week, this was the off-season for flags," he said. "Now everyone wants one. We’ve been sold out since Thursday."
Shannon Tunstall, Somerset Office Supply, said that store had 20 to 25 flags of various sizes but sold the last one on Monday. More are on order.
Charles Lincoln, Quality Farm and Fleet, said he doesn’t know how many flags they had, but they’re all sold out. The supplier is having problems getting more.
Karen Burk, spokesperson for Wal-Mart corporate headquarters, said from Tuesday through Thursday, Wal-Mart stores nationally sold 450,000 flags. During the same week a year ago, only 26,000 were sold. Some individual stores may have some flags, she said.
"We're working with suppliers to get more," she said.
Ron Hunter, owner of Signs by Precision Enterprises, Somerset, said all the flags he had in stock were sold in the first four days. Those he ordered by overnight delivery were gone Tuesday morning.
"I don't even have the time to determine how many we sold," he said. "People were buying them in bulk."
Signs by Precision Enterprises has cranes and bucket trucks to install signs. Some sign companies handle flags to complement the sign business, he said. That is usually to their advantage because industrial accounts which order signs may also order large flag poles and flags, such as the giant flag near the Ramada Inn. He handles the smaller flags because they can lead to an industrial flag job.
"I've done industrial flags from here to Ohio," he said. "The small flags were hardly worth the time until now."
Terrorism brings halt to firemen’s convention
By MIKE O'BRIEN, Daily American Staff Writer,
In light of the recent terrorist attacks and the local logistical problems they have created, the upcoming state firemen’s association convention has been canceled, its organizers announced Monday night.
The convention was set to begin Sept. 26 with an address by Gov. Tom Ridge and end with a huge parade on Sept. 29. Some organizers estimated the event would bring between 20,000 and 50,000 people to Somerset.
In a press release drafted Monday night, the organizing committee stated its reasons for canceling the convention.
"The committee responsible for organizing the convention decided ... that because of the recent tragedies in New York, Washington, D.C., and Somerset County, it would be better not to host this year’s event out of respect to the victims and their families.
"The tragedy that occurred in Somerset County has created logistical problems. Federal and state authorities that are working at the crash site of United Flight 93 are now using hundreds of the area's hotel rooms. Another problem faced by the convention hosts is a lack of resources and help. Many of the volunteers who would have been involved with the convention are now working endless hours assisting the crash site clean-up crew.
"The convention committee also has decided that a convention celebration would not be appropriate at a time of national sorrow," the release states.
Somerset Borough Mayor William Meyer attended the organizers' meeting Monday night to voice the borough’s concerns about the upcoming convention.
"We just didn’t feel that it was appropriate to be celebrating at this time," he said.
First lady gives hope to families of Flight 93 [posted Tuesday, September 18th]
By SANDRA LEPLEY
Daily American Staff Writer
As harp music played in the background, hundreds of family members of the "heroic" ones who died aboard Flight 93 last Tuesday near Shanksville lit candles in remembrance of their loved ones during an afternoon memorial service Monday at Indian Lake.
The expected crowd of 130 turned into about 240 family and friends who arrived by charter buses at a tent on the seventh fairway of public golf course to hear remarks from first lady Laura Bush, who attended the private service to share words of love, faith and hope.
"This has been a week of loss and heartache of a kind none of us could have imagined. What happened in New York City, in Washington, and here in Pennsylvania, caused deep suffering across the nation," said Mrs. Bush, dressed in a teal dress suit and poised with a compassionate demur.
Prior to the ceremony, the family members of 27 passengers visited the site where their loved ones died when Flight 93 crashed into an abandoned strip mine on Tuesday morning. The family members, aboard a motorcade of charter buses kept well away from news media camped nearby, left flowers and teddy bears at the site.
"The Call to Remembrance" memorial service was closed to the public, except for a few dignitaries, both local and statewide.
About 50 news organziations were at the crash site. However, only seven reporters were taken to the private memorial service, including The Daily American.
"We are still grieving as details become known — and especially as we learn the names of the lost, the story of their deaths, and the story of each life. All of us, as Americans, share in this grief," said Mrs. Bush, who was in one of the Senate office buildings next to the U.S. Capitol when the Pentagon was attacked.
United Airlines Flight 93 was the last of four hijacked airliners to crash when it went off course from the intended Newark, N.J., to San Francisco, Calif., path and headed straight for Washington D.C. area. This plane was the only one not to hit a U.S. landmark. Some passengers on the plane telephoned loved ones to say they were planning to overpower their suspected hijackers. Moments later the plane hit the earth where all that remains is a crater-like hole currently being excavated by forensic experts and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials.
Both the flight data recorder and the voice cockpit recorder were excavated last week and taken to Washington D.C. for analysis.
"The burden is greatest, however, for the families — like those of you who are with us today. America is learning the names, but you know the people. And you are the ones they thought of in the last moments of life. You are the ones they called, and prayed to see again. You are the ones they loved," Mrs. Bush said.
The first lady referred to a line from a poem by saying "Love knows not its own depths until the hour of parting."
"The loved ones we remember today knew — even in those horrible moments — that they were not truly alone, because your love was with them," she said. In her final moments at the podium, she shared words of faith and encouragement to a hushed audience.
"In hours like this, we learn that our faith is an active faith, that we are called to serve and care for one another, and to bring hope and comfort where there is despair and sorrow," she said. "All of this is the work of the living. And as it begins, however long it lasts, we will always hold close the memory of those who have been taken from you and from us,"
Mrs. Bush never mentioned any name specifically but referred to one of the Flight 93 victims who called his family from his cell phone and in his last parting words, he told them he loved them and he would see them again.
"That brave man was a witness for the greatest hope of all and the hope that unites us now. You grieve today, and the hurt will not soon go away. But that hope is real, and it is forever, just as the love you share with your loved ones is forever," concluded Mrs. Bush.
Gov. Tom Ridge, who attended the memorial service with his wife, Michele, introduced the first lady after his remarks of praise for the "ordinary Americans in extraordinary circumstances" aboard Flight 93.
"They were men and women who were simply trying to get to their jobs and do their jobs," said Gov. Ridge in a moving speech. "They bonded together and fought back against their captors and saved hundreds and hundreds of lives in the process. Their actions sent an important message to America. We should look to them for inspiration and guidance and that is to be empowered and not helpless in the face of evil."
Gov. Ridge remarked that the recent acts of terrorism didn't cause a country to crumble but it did more to light a fire for cause and patriotism.
"The one target the terrorists missed was America itself," Gov. Ridge said. "They did not destroy us. They ignited our patriotism. They did not take away our way of life, American will continue to be America. We understand it's not a piece of ground, not a map, but a way of life."
Last Friday, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter suggested that the Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. recognition for a civilian, be awarded to those who decided to action. Sen. Specter and U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, both of whom visited last week, believe this particular plane was headed for the U.S. Capitol building in D.C.
The family members, some of whom were dressed in blue jeans and others in suits or dress clothes, cried at times during the lighting of the candles to remember their loved ones. Some of the family members wore pictures of their loved ones on yarns around their necks.Others carried cameras and camcorders.
When an FBI agent tried to stop a news photographer from snapping photos of grieving mother Alice Hoglan, who appeared last week in a gripping interview on "The Today Show" concerning her son Mark Bingham's cell phone call, she told the agent, "it's all right." Hoglan looked back at the press, who were in the last row of the tent, and said in a low voice, "I'm glad you're here."
Near the end of the ceremony, Claude d'Estree, a spiritual care coordinator, announced that the family members would receive small vials of soil from the site.
Father Joseph McCafery, chaplain of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, charged the crowd to build a different kind of monument for the victims, a monument in their hearts.
"The monument you and I must build is nothing on the outside but in the heart of each of us," said McCafery. "Monuments we built for those who are gone is in the heart of each one of us."
Relative of Flight 93 victim expresses loss to family and country [Tuesday, Sept. 18th?]
By VICKI ROCK, Daily American Staff Writer,
Gorden Felt spoke eloquently Monday night of his brother Edward's love for his family.
Edward Felt, 41, Matawan, N.J., was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93 which crashed last Tuesday near Shanksville. Gorden Felt, 37, Newark, N.J., was the only family member to ask to address the news media at Seven Springs Resort after the events held for them at the site and at Indian Lake Resort.
His family asked him to make a brief statement so Edward would not be forgotten, he said. He then answered some questions.
"It is not only a loss to our family," he said. "Along with the deaths of all the others, it was a representation of a loss of innocence for generations of Americans. My brother's total passion was his family — his wife and children."
Edward was an inspiration to all those who were lucky to know him, his brother said. He was a man of peace with a keen intellect — a "computer guy". He was the gifted father of two.
He declined to release his brother's children's names and ages. Their mother is still living, but their father is deceased. They have another older brother. His brother's children didn't come to Somerset County.
"The greatest legacy we can leave the world is our children," Gorden said. He keeps asking himself how to explain what happened to his three-year-old daughter when he himself doesn't understand.
His nine-year-old daughter asked him if more people will die. He replied that he doesn't know,
"Uncle Ed had it right," he said. "As we go through life, act, don’t react. Look your loved ones in the eyes and know you did your best."
Edward worked for BEA Systems, a direct research and development group. He was flying to San Francisco on business. When he talked about computers, nobody could understand him, his brother said.
He absolutely believes people on Flight 93 were heroes. They took the first step in combating terrorism.
"We were fortunate today to overlook some hallowed grounds in our country (the crash site)," he said.
The family didn't receive a cell phone call from his brother, Gorden believes, because Edward was so technologically brilliant that he would have been trying to figure out how to help or to fly the plane if necessary.
The agencies he has had contact with have gone out of their way to help the families and make them feel they are related to heroes. They got as close as about a quarter-mile from the crash site and were allowed to leave flowers, pictures and mementos at the memorial. People stood along the road, waving flags as they drove by. Pennsylvania State Police troopers saluted.
There were wonderful banners along the way and the banners in the family center at the resort made by students are incredible, as are the letters they've received. The support's been tremendous.
First lady Laura Bush was very gracious to them and stayed to talk individually to the family members.
It was the start of closure for him, but he doesn’t know what will bring total closure. Maybe nothing will,
He was able to maintain his composure even while facing more than 20 television cameras and numerous newspaper reporters. At times, he laughed, while speaking of his brother’s technological skills.
"Everyone likes to think their family members were involved (as heroes) in some way," he said. "I think they all were."
He last spoke to his brother two weeks ago.
"If he were here now, I'd just want to repeat that I love him," Gorden said,
He was not disappointed that the president didn't come because he has more important things on his mind. That's not to say he isn't thinking of the victims, but he has a job to do. His thoughts and prayers are with the president.
He hopes people who are making the decisions for our country are making them with clear minds, not with emotions. He thinks there will be a proper, measured response from our government.
"One of the most powerful themes I brought away from the service today was the theme of love," he said. "The leaders in this world have the responsibility to think clearly. Vengeance clouds the judgment. Think with clarity."
The crash site was a tragedy, but at least other people weren't affected as what happened in New York and Washington, D.C. He hopes the country doesn't focus on any one crash because thousands have lost loved ones. We are all mourning together.
"I absolutely plan to return when a memorial is dedicated and hopefully many more times," Gorden Felt said.
Other planes in air around Flight 93 [posted Sunday, September 16]
By VERLE FRITZ, Daily American Correspondent,
SHANKSVILLE --There were other aircraft in the air when the hijacked Flight 93 went down in a strip mine area near Shanksville on Sept. 11.
At a press conference on Saturday, FBI Special Agent Bill Crowley said two other aircraft were in the air in the vicinity of Flight 93 at the time of the crash, including one believed to be en route to Johnstown.
Crowley said a Falcon 20 civilian craft was heading for a landing at Johnstown approximately 20 miles away, "which would be consistent with information that the FAA gave." It was flying at an altitude of 37,000 feet when it was given clearance to drop to 5,000 feet to help pinpoint Tuesday's crash site. It's almost unheard of for a plane to be that low. "The civilian craft assisted emergency crews in locating the crash scene.
Crowley said there was also a C-130 military cargo plane in the area. He explained that it was not involved in the fatal crash. The cargo plane, carrying no weapons, was 17 miles away flying at 24,000 feet.
There had been speculation all week that United's Flight 93 was shot down, possibly by a U.S. fighter plane. There is no evidence of an explosion on board the plane, but investigators haven't ruled it out, Crowley said.
"We are trying to deal with what we have here on the ground as evidence. Rather than speculate on what was going on up there. If there is any indication that there was a bomb or an explosive device on the plane we will let you know. Right now we don't have anything. Right now we feel that it is very premature to say that, because we have a lot more work to do. That is why we are not ready to discount it or to say that it happened," Crowley said.
Meanwhile, the cockpit voice recorder from the Boeing 757, which crashed near Shanksville, was taken to Washington where federal investigators hope it will help them unravel the mystery of why the hijacked plane went down.
Crowley said the flight data recorder was in "fairly good condition" and was initially sent to the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) at its laboratories in Washington, D.C. They were then forwarded to the manufacturer, the Associated Press reported later.
The voice recorder was found 25 feet deep in the crash crater, near where the flight data recorder was unearthed a day earlier.
Information from the so-called black boxes can only be released by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft or the director of the FBI in Washington, D.C., Crowley said. "It certainly won't be done here. We are focused on the information and what is coming out of this area. That decision certainly will not be made here."
There was no word on Saturday if President Bush intended to visit the site but "it wouldn't surprise me if he decided to come," Crowley said.
There was much speculation that President Bush might visit when more family members visit the crash site Monday. Eight family members visited the crash site on Friday, according to Lyle Szupinka, Area 3 Pennsylvania State Police Commander.
A private memorial service for family members has been scheduled for Monday. The exact time has not been disclosed.
"Other members will be visiting the crash site. Our troopers and the FBI are working in conjunction with representatives from the airline to insure their privacy once they get here.
Needless to say, based on what occurred yesterday, this is very, very tragic for the family members and all of us. It is a very, very sad occasion when we view that site," Szupinka pointed out.
"They were severely grieved and very appreciative of all the recovery efforts that were being made. They did leave some flowers. They left some photographs, and they left a United States Flag, which they said was for all those who had perished. Not just their family members."
"The viewing that the family members have is the same as the media has had," Szupinka said.
"We cannot let them down to the crash site. Basically, the bus trips that were organized for the media, that is the identical area that we are taking the family members."
"Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is in the process of paving the road for us, a temporary paving, in case the weather goes further downhill on us," Szupinka said. This is the dirt road that leads from Lambertsville Road to the crash scene.
To date, Crowley said, weather at the crash site has favored workers.
Those toiling directly in the crash crater, which has been excavated to a depth of more than 25 feet, wear special hazardous material suits to avoid contamination from any of a variety of materials they might encounter.
"They are working in suits that don’t breathe," Crowley said. "If the weather had been hotter, work would have been hampered by workers' need to stop frequently for water."
The workers at the site are a diverse team, composed of experts from a variety of agencies and backgrounds. Crowley said expert recovery workers were called in from around the world for this project. Some have worked on crash sites half a world away in war-torn Kosovo, he said.
"The people who are down there from all the different agencies are very experienced and very good at what they do. This is a horrific situation, but this is what they are trained to do and that is what they are doing and they will do their job. Whatever expertise that has been needed, has been done. It is going well. Everything is in place that needs to be in place. Now they just need the time to do there jobs. It is a work in progress, and they will keep at it until they feel satisfied that they have recovered as much as they can get."
The Red Cross, Salvation Army, and area businesses continue to provide food and water for rescue workers. "That is the kind of spirit that we have been getting, and I feel it is something that needs to be noted," Crowley emphasized.
"I can not stress enough the support services that we have received from the Red Cross and Salvation Army. It has been nothing but outstanding. The amount of hours that they donate and dedicate to this service. All free of charge. I can’t say enough about the role of the volunteers. Without them we would be at a loss. They provide many services that if we had to do it ourselves it would tie up our basic law enforcement. Because they are here helping us, we are able to devote our troopers to police business," Major Szupinka said.
Crowley pointed out that workers are using a combination of heavy equipment and hand-held straining boxes to sift through the debris. "Everything has to be sifted by human beings....Obviously human remains are now the only priority," he added.
Crowley couldn't say just how long work will continue at the crash site, but there were indications it won’t conclude anytime soon.
"There is a large number of workers here and the number changes daily, based on the needs of that particular day," Crowley said. "It is definitely over 200 people, but it is massive and it changes. There is no one number that I can give you, but whatever is needed is here."
The Shanksville area crash site was the last of the four that toppled the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon. Some have speculated that the four hijackers planned to target Camp David in Maryland, the Capitol or even the White House.
A United spokesman on Sunday reported that one of the 37 passengers on Flight 93 purchased two tickets so the death toll is now listed at 44 instead of 45.
In Shanksville, only a few miles from the rural field where a hijacked plane slammed into the earth 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, killing 44 people, almost all churches reported a significant rise in attendance.
Sylvia Baker, pastor of the Shanksville Assembly of God, wept at the pulpit.
"I had a hard time making it through Bible School with the children this morning," she told the 30 people in the congregation. "I don’t know how I’ll make it through the service."
"A lot of people feel we are the forgotten tragedy, compared to New York or Washington D.C.," said Pastor Ron Emery of Shanksville United Methodist Church, who said the community had risen to respond.
"Our workers are on that hill," Emery said. "Our families have seen that there is food for anyone who needs it in this time of tragedy.... I am proud to be your pastor."
One by one, members of the congregation stood to share stories about how their lives had changed as law enforcement, reporters and rescue workers descended on their town and how the community pulled together to help.
"This is a small enclave, a very rural area," Pastor Robert Way of the St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church said of the town of 245 people. "There was this sense that something like this couldn't happen here — not just wouldn't, but couldn't, happen here, our own little Shangri La."
In unrelated incidents, state troopers, who provide security, made several DUI and drug arrests, including an incident around midnight on Friday when troopers found marijuana in a vehicle at a checkpoint near the crash site, according to a report by Major Szupinka.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Community attempting to cope with reality of terrorism [posted Sunday, September 16th]
By JENNIFER THOMAS, Daily American Staff Writer,
As the nation attempts to deal with the aftermath of Tuesday's terrorist attacks in New York and Washington D.C., those in Somerset County are also attempting to cope with the reality that terrorism has struck close to home, as United Flight 93 went down in a field near Shanksville that same day.
"Our community has an added burden, not only are we dealing with the whys, we're also dealing with the shock and fear that this happened so close to home," said Elaine Lahm, director of clinical services unit and school based programs for Bedford/Somerset Mental Health Mental Retardation (MH/MR).
And while many are still dealing with their emotions, two information sessions were held this weekend giving crisis teams a chance to let people know what they are feeling is normal and to distribute information to make the recovery process easier.
The first session at Shanksville on Saturday drew about 65 people according to Lahm. The second at Somerset High School had an audience of roughly 30, including State Rep. Bob Bastian.
"Our purpose is to address the sense of loss felt in our country and Somerset County," said Lahm. "We felt like we needed to do that for our community."
Lahm said it is important to remember each person will deal in their own way, and that children can be affected differently than adults. She also said those who have recently experienced a loss may be take the recent events worse.
"We have had a tragic event," she said. "The next stage is shock and disbelief."
Lahm said after the shock begins to wear off people will begin safeguarding themselves from the trauma by making themselves emotionally distant. The process can leave an individual exhausted from their fears, and cause impatience more frequently than before.
She said the next step is often anger, before people really have a true sense of loss.
"But what can really hit us is a sense of sadness that these tragedies have occurred," she said. "We do move out of it. It does not last forever."
Lahm said there are a number of physical, mental and emotional aspects that must be faced instead of ignored to get through a time of crisis.
Sharon Griffith, residential services coordinator for mental health, also said stress from the recent events can be challenging as physical symptoms can emerge.
Headaches, extreme thirst, nausea, chills, profuse sweating and twitches, "they’re just ways of your body telling you to slow down," she said.
She said while those are most common symptoms can be more severe causing an increased heart rate, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, muscle tremors.
"The reason we’re telling you this is to try to normalize it," she said.
She said this is a time where people are emotionally stunned, and can face intense anger, which needs to be expressed.
Emotionally a person may find themselves to be irritable, anxious, overwhelmed, or depressed. They may even be feeling guilt during their time of grief.
Griffith said Tuesday’s events may also temporarily interrupt concentration, cause nightmares and memory problems and a loss of time, place or person orientation.
"As the stress level goes down, those too will become less and less frequent," she said.
She said people should wait to make important decisions until they feel better and avoid turning to alcohol and drugs to numb their feelings.
While everyone reacts in different ways, Griffith said talking is a good way to heal.
"It's very important to try to reassure each other that it's OK," she said. "We're all doing the best we can right now."
She said finding ways you and your family can help may also help to relieve some of the symptoms.
"It's just so important to be able to help each other," Griffith said.
Lahm said people shouldn't underestimate how much children understand at a very young age.
She said young children can regress and have sleep problems over the fear of being separated from a loved one.
"We as adults need to reach out to the children and give them lots of affection," she said.
School age students may suffer from the inability to pay attention, sleeplessness and be moody and withdrawn. An increase in physical complaints can be expected.
Teenagers may also suffer from loss of appetite, anger and guilt, and experiment with alcohol and drugs during stressful times.
Television coverage should be limited and Lahm recommends parents encourage discussion, expression of feelings and offer an honest age- appropriate explanation of the event.
Memorial service at CT [posted Sunday, September 16th]
By NAN TEMYER, Daily American Correspondent,
DAVIDSVILLE -The Conemaugh Township athletic stadium was filled to the brim with football fans Saturday night that came to see the Conemaugh Township Windber football game and attend the memorial service for the victims of Flight 93 in Shanksville.
At times the stadium was in complete silence while the service progressed from the entrance of the huge American flag carried by both school’s cheerleaders to the color guard by the 876 Battalion of the National Guard and the ringing of the bell by Conemaugh Township fire chief Shawn Adams, 45 times for the fallen of Flight 93.
Fans sang their alma mater and at the close of the service, a fan started a chant of USA that filled the whole stadium, followed by a loud cheer that rang into the night air.
The boot fund collected at the stadium Saturday night, for the families of the fallen firefighters in New York City, was a huge success and will continue into the week. Anyone wishing to donate to the fund may do so by sending checks to the Cenwest National Bank in Benscreek.
The funds received will be hand delivered to New York by representatives from the Somerset and Cambria County fire fighting services.
The service was a combined effort of both the Conemaugh Township and Windber school districts.
Community stands strong [posted Saturday, September 15th]
By BOBBIE BLACK
Daily American Lifestyles Editor
"The terrorists who took so many lives across the U.S. on Tuesday have failed. They did not drive us apart. They have brought us together," said Pennsylvania Gov. Thomas Ridge during Friday evening's community candlelight prayer and memorial service held at the Somerset County Courthouse.
The service was held to honor the victims of United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed Tuesday morning near Shanksville. It was one of four airliners hijacked during a morning of terror.
Gov. Ridge came to Somerset to serve as one of the speakers in the nearly 90-minute session which included prayers, speeches and religious and secular music.
North Center Avenue around the courthouse was closed to traffic during the service, as was Union Street and around the county office buildings.
"Our nation's strength is not found in landmarks, it is not in any one city, it is in our freedom," said Gov. Ridge, as he looked out over the crowd, which swelled to more than 3,000 and shut down the public streets around the courthouse.
"We must never forget that the cowardly assaults were not just against America, they were against a civilized world and the righteousness of liberty," Ridge said,
The governor visited the site of the crash on Tuesday. "It is a monument to heroism that the passengers of Flight 93 decided to fight the hijackers, he said. "With their efforts, they saved hundreds. They scarified themselves for others. They gave the ultimate sacrifice, themselves."
Ridge's remarks drew a standing ovation from the crowd, which also applauded the families and United Airlines co-workers who attended the service.
Seated in front of the courthouse in reserved seats carrying white roses and red candles, the diverse group of about 80 people prayed, sang, wept and waved American flags as the service was held. They received a standing ovation as they filed quietly in, many of them being supported by Red Cross Disaster Services representatives.
Filing in quietly at the old County Jail side of the Courthouse were members of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the families, who created hardly a stir among the flag-waving crowd. The group arrived by bus from Pittsburgh just minutes before the service started.
After the invocation by the Rev. Mark Bendes, pastor of the Somerset Church of the Brethren and the presentation of the colors by Company C, First Bn., 103rd Armor of the Pa. Army National Guard, the national anthem was sung by Tammy Armstrong of Somerset.
As the Rev. Glenn Sadler, pastor of St. Paul's United Church of Christ, read the roll of those killed on Flight 93, hijacked enroute from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco, Calif., members of the Somerset Area High School cross-country team lit luminaries. The courthouse bell tolled for each of the 46 passengers and crew members. The bell tolled five times for the unidentified hijackers, whose names have not been released.
Music was also provided by The Roof Garden Chorus, which sang "The Lord's Prayer" "Let There Be Peace On Earth," and "An Irish Blessing," and The Through The Fields Singers and accompanists of St. Francis In The Fields Episcopal Church. Danny Conner of Rockwood sang a resounding version of "God Bless The U.S.A."
Marlene T. Phillips read an original tribute poem to the victims, and Jerry Spangler, Somerset County district attorney, presented a memorial star to the victims families, donated by elected officials and employees of Somerset County.
"We want the families to know that we share in their loss. Together we will work through this," Spangler told the crowd.
Rev. Sadler presented the victims' families' spokesperson with several items, from letters written by school children at Rockwood Area School District, to banners from the Bedford-Somerset MH-MR, memorabilia from Sipesville Elementary School children as well as other items.
Other Somerset Ministerium pastors taking part were Monsignor Samuel Tomaselli of St. Peter's Catholic Church; Rev. Robert Hoover of Trinity Lutheran Church, Rev. Russ Kessler of the heritage Baptist Church; Rev. Patricia Nelson of First United Methodist Church, Rev. Dan Nicksich of First Christian Church, the Rev. Keith Fink of St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, Rev. Mark Zimmerman of St. Francis Episcopal Church and Rev. Roger Forry, retired pastor of the Somerset Church of the Brethren.
"This crowd was simply outstanding," said state Rep. Robert Bastian, who attended the service. "We need to keep having their crowds for our community services, such as our Memorial Day service."
"We never had any idea this many people would attend," said event coordinator and Somerset businesswoman Susan Hankinson. "We printed 1,500 programs, and later this afternoon, printed an additional 1,000. We ran out of them, along with candles, but the crowd just kept getting bigger. The people didn't want to leave, either, they just wanted to stay. The would have stayed until midnight if we would have continued," she added.
"We are leaving the luminaries and the flowers on the steps of the courthouse throughout the weekend. The items left for the victim's families will be sent to them through United (Airlines) by next week."
[The National Day of Prayer and Remembrance was held by proclamation of President Bush on Friday, September 14th, so these articles likely came out on Saturday, the 15th of September.]
Community stands strong in wake of tragedy [posted Saturday, September 15th]
By MIKE O'BRIEN, Daily American Staff Writer,
"A week ago, I never thought this was how I was going to be spending my Friday night. But right now, I couldn't think of any other way I'd rather spend it," said a woman as she walks with her stroller-pushing husband towards the Somerset County Courthouse.
The trio are among 3,000 Americans gathering at dusk on the steps of stately courthouse to observe the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance in the wake of Tuesday's terror attacks that dropped airplanes and havoc in Washington, D.C., New York City and Somerset County.
Throughout Somerset, flags at half-staff and yellow ribbons tied to poles serve as constant reminders of an entire nation's grief, which some compared to what was witnessed immediately after Pearl Harbor and the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
"I always thought the Challenger shuttle explosion was going to be the tragedy that our generation would always remember, but now it looks like this will be it," the woman adds.
Many at the gathering had just spent the week glued to their television sets, struggling to make sense of an otherwise incomprehensible set of events. About 5,000 people are still buried beneath the rubble in New York as the crowd takes their place beneath the cloudless sky.
The intersecton in front of the courthouse has been closed down to allow for the pedestrian traffic which is spilling over the sidewalk's curbs. For this reporter, it seems the only place to stand is atop the base of the Civil War statue that stoically stands guard outside the courthouse.
A small boy also stands atop the base, staring at the huge flag as the vigil begins. His young mind wanders, and dreams of a day when he is old enough to go off and fight the terrorists himself. His mother silently watches him and dreads that now-seemingly inevitable day. A chill runs down her spine and a tear wets her eye.
This reporter wonders if another memorial honoring our war dead will stand here one day because of what Tuesday's attacks may lead to.
One by one, starting with the flight crew, and then the passengers, the names of those aboard United Flight 93 are read, except for five names that were not provided by officials.
A bell tolls after each name, and five more times for the witheld names. The bell, tolling for both the innocent and the guilty, reminds this reporter of a John Donne poem he once read long ago:
"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the lesser, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
As the darkness falls, candles begin to burn throughout the crowd, casting their light upon tear-streaked faces, faces showing grief for those who may have never visited Somerset County in life but now will forever be a part of its loamy soil.
The vigil draws to an end with a patriotic flourish and the crowds begin to disperse, bound to return to their television sets and the sorrow that they seem to transmit these days.
But for more than an hour on Friday night, Somerset residents moved from their TVs and stood together to show their unyielding strength and unity, because that's just what Americans do.
[Missing from the summary list above.]
Second Black Box found [posted Saturday, September 15th]
By SANDRA LEPLEY, Daily American Staff Writer,
The cockpit voice recorder from the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed Tuesday in Stonycreek Township was found Friday, according to an FBI official.
The plane's second "black box" was found by search crews at about 8:30 p.m., about 25 feet deep into the crater, FBI spokeswoman Linda Vizi said.
The voice recorder was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, she said.
She said she did not know what condition the cockpit voice recorder was in.
Citing descriptions by those who found it, FBI spokesman Bill Crowley said the recorder appears to be "in fairly good shape."
The recorder, which is designed to capture at least the last 30 minutes of cockpit conversation, could provide more detail about what happened on board United Flight 93.
The plane's other black box, the flight data recorder, was found Thursday.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Passengers on Flight 93 credited for avoiding crash into the Capitol [Press Conference, Friday, Sept. 14th; posted online Saturday, Sept. 15th]
Second Black Box found [posted Saturday, September 15th]
By SANDRA LEPLEY, Daily American Staff Writer,
The cockpit voice recorder from the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed Tuesday in Stonycreek Township was found Friday, according to an FBI official.
The plane's second "black box" was found by search crews at about 8:30 p.m., about 25 feet deep into the crater, FBI spokeswoman Linda Vizi said.
The voice recorder was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, she said.
She said she did not know what condition the cockpit voice recorder was in.
Citing descriptions by those who found it, FBI spokesman Bill Crowley said the recorder appears to be "in fairly good shape."
The recorder, which is designed to capture at least the last 30 minutes of cockpit conversation, could provide more detail about what happened on board United Flight 93.
The plane's other black box, the flight data recorder, was found Thursday.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
By SANDRA LEPLEY
Daily American Staff Writer
U.S. Senators Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter believe had it not been for Flight 93 crashing into a field in Somerset County on Tuesday, their lives and those of other congressmen, would have been lost.
"My speculation is that this one (plane) was headed straight to the Capitol building," said Specter, who indicated that the plane that crashed into the Pentagon was supposed to hit the White House and chances are this Boeing 757 crashing outside of Shanksville had the Capitol as the target.
During an afternoon press conference, Sens. Specter and Santorum presented the flag that flew over the Capitol this week to FBI special agent Jack Shea, who attended the press conference on Friday, for the purpose of flying it at the site.
"All indicators point to some (people) who rushed the pilot and brought the plane down," says Specter, who plans to look into a Freedom Medal as a "debt of gratitude" for those responsible for "saving senate and house members, including the two sitting here."
Specter mentioned the names of Flight 93 passengers, Jeremy Glick, Thomas Burnett and Mark Vale. Apparently, Glick called his wife before the crash and told her he and some others were going to take action and Specter related Glick was a "strong, a tough guy."
Sen. Specter doesn't believe the military involvement theory because he said "had there been some projectile that brought it down, there would have been some debris other than what has been found, away from the crash." Some believe that fighter jets in the area in and around the time of the crash may have shot the plane down because by that time, the other two planes had already crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City and one at the Pentagon in Washington D.C.
Specter says "it was my understanding that there wasn't any time for them (the military) to reach this location in time." Specter further added that "the impact was extraordinary" with Flight 93 coming over Johnstown Airport low at 450 mph and the flight data recorder, found Thursday afternoon, was 15 feet down inside the crater.
Sen. Santorum relates that "many of us (congressmen) would have been in the Capitol at that time had it reached its course."
Both Specter and Santorum met with President George W. Bush in the past few days and the congressmen both believe Bush is fully committed to finding those responsible for these tragedies and then going after the country responsible for harboring them.
On Friday, $40 billion had been appropriated for recovery and rescue efforts in what the congressmen describe as a "very thorough and lengthy war against terrorism."
"We need to defend our country against terrorism," said Sen. Santorum, "and defend it against the people who harbor them. We are a beacon of freedom to the world and we are talking here about people who hate freedom."
Santorum believes that Bush is "absolutely committed and dedicated to defending this country against terrorism."
Specter says the investigation will mainly be focused on Afghanistan but all terrorist groups will be investigated.
"The president is casting a very large swab. All this will be investigated with a fine tooth comb. This is not over until America can intimidate the country responsible for harboring those responsible and eliminate terrorist cells," says Specter.
A prayer vigil was held around noon on Friday by Capt. Dan English of the Salvation Army based in Greensburg.
Rabbi Ronald Bluming of Johnstown, Father Sean Code of St. Peter's Catholic Church in Somerset and Rev. Russ Kessler, pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in Friedens, were also at the site later for a prayerful remembrance.
"I understand that the terrorists wanted to bend America at the knee," says Rev. Kessler, "all they did was wake a sleeping giant. Through this heinous tragedy, though the attackers meant it for bad, God is going to use that in a very unique and special way to revive American and America's belief in God."
A memorial with a cross has been erected in the media village area for those who have died in the plane crash. An inscription at the memorial reads: "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me."
Daily American Staff Writer
U.S. Senators Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter believe had it not been for Flight 93 crashing into a field in Somerset County on Tuesday, their lives and those of other congressmen, would have been lost.
"My speculation is that this one (plane) was headed straight to the Capitol building," said Specter, who indicated that the plane that crashed into the Pentagon was supposed to hit the White House and chances are this Boeing 757 crashing outside of Shanksville had the Capitol as the target.
During an afternoon press conference, Sens. Specter and Santorum presented the flag that flew over the Capitol this week to FBI special agent Jack Shea, who attended the press conference on Friday, for the purpose of flying it at the site.
"All indicators point to some (people) who rushed the pilot and brought the plane down," says Specter, who plans to look into a Freedom Medal as a "debt of gratitude" for those responsible for "saving senate and house members, including the two sitting here."
Specter mentioned the names of Flight 93 passengers, Jeremy Glick, Thomas Burnett and Mark Vale. Apparently, Glick called his wife before the crash and told her he and some others were going to take action and Specter related Glick was a "strong, a tough guy."
Sen. Specter doesn't believe the military involvement theory because he said "had there been some projectile that brought it down, there would have been some debris other than what has been found, away from the crash." Some believe that fighter jets in the area in and around the time of the crash may have shot the plane down because by that time, the other two planes had already crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City and one at the Pentagon in Washington D.C.
Specter says "it was my understanding that there wasn't any time for them (the military) to reach this location in time." Specter further added that "the impact was extraordinary" with Flight 93 coming over Johnstown Airport low at 450 mph and the flight data recorder, found Thursday afternoon, was 15 feet down inside the crater.
Sen. Santorum relates that "many of us (congressmen) would have been in the Capitol at that time had it reached its course."
Both Specter and Santorum met with President George W. Bush in the past few days and the congressmen both believe Bush is fully committed to finding those responsible for these tragedies and then going after the country responsible for harboring them.
On Friday, $40 billion had been appropriated for recovery and rescue efforts in what the congressmen describe as a "very thorough and lengthy war against terrorism."
"We need to defend our country against terrorism," said Sen. Santorum, "and defend it against the people who harbor them. We are a beacon of freedom to the world and we are talking here about people who hate freedom."
Santorum believes that Bush is "absolutely committed and dedicated to defending this country against terrorism."
Specter says the investigation will mainly be focused on Afghanistan but all terrorist groups will be investigated.
"The president is casting a very large swab. All this will be investigated with a fine tooth comb. This is not over until America can intimidate the country responsible for harboring those responsible and eliminate terrorist cells," says Specter.
A prayer vigil was held around noon on Friday by Capt. Dan English of the Salvation Army based in Greensburg.
Rabbi Ronald Bluming of Johnstown, Father Sean Code of St. Peter's Catholic Church in Somerset and Rev. Russ Kessler, pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in Friedens, were also at the site later for a prayerful remembrance.
"I understand that the terrorists wanted to bend America at the knee," says Rev. Kessler, "all they did was wake a sleeping giant. Through this heinous tragedy, though the attackers meant it for bad, God is going to use that in a very unique and special way to revive American and America's belief in God."
A memorial with a cross has been erected in the media village area for those who have died in the plane crash. An inscription at the memorial reads: "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me."
Emotional support given to help area cope with tragedy [posted Friday, September 14th?]
By VICKI ROCK, Daily American Staff Writer,
As the investigation continues into the crash of United Flight 93 near Shanksville, steps have been taken to provide emotional support for people who live in the area and for emergency workers.
Administrators at Shanksville-Stonycreek schools, a short distance away from the crash site, decided on Tuesday to let the children go home early if parents came to pick them up. Superintendent Gary Singel said he didn't want children to go home to an empty house.
"The little ones don’t realize what's going on," Elementary Principal Rosemarie Tipton said. "We're doing well, we’re trying to keep their minds off it."
Five mental health counselors were at the schools on Wednesday, Singel said, but students didn’t feel the need to meet with them. A couple of students became upset and asked to go home early. They were allowed to when their parents arrived. Thursday, a teacher became distressed, but after meeting with a guidance counselor, was able to teach.
"The immediate thing was shock," he said. "Now we're dealing with the aftermath. We reassured the children they are safe. That’s the most important thing."
Older students and faculty members are asking what they can do to help. The school is contacting the American Red Cross about a blood drive. It also suggested that donations of bottled water and food be donated for the investigators and is hosting a crisis meeting.
Bottled water, sodas and other food may be taken to the Shanksville fire hall at any time.
Bedford-Somerset Mental Health/Mental Retardation Agency, in cooperation with Somerset Hospital and Critical Incident Stress Management Team, Pittsburgh, is holding two community meetings. The first will be from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday at Shanksville-Stonycreek High School cafeteria. The other is from 1 to 2 p.m. Sunday at Somerset High School auditorium.
Training for ministers and other counselors will be held by the American Red Cross at 10 a.m. Friday at Heritage Baptist Church.
The community meetings are being called "Pulling Together as a Community, Making Sense of Flight 93." They are open to people of all ages, but child care will be provided. Refreshments will be available. News media are asked not to take cameras in to the meetings.
Mary Piatt-Bruner, county manager of mental health services and coordinator of the emergency response team, said the team is activated in traumatic situations such as this, the tornadoes, teen suicides and other fatalities. The meetings will have an educational flavor. People may ask questions about how to deal with children’s questions and what is normal after traumatic events.
"People may expect stress two weeks from now, two months from now and even a year from now,” she said. "Different things may trigger it. People react in different ways. They may experience fatigue or flu-like symptoms which is stress-related."
People may also call MH/MR during regular business hours at 443-4891 or the crisis hotline at 1-877-814-4891.
Dr. Matt Masiello, chairman of the pediatrics department at Conemaugh’s Memorial Hospital, said the most important thing for parents to do is remain calm and demonstrate a calming effect to children. If children are under the age of 10 or 12, limit their exposure to the media, turn off the TV. Teenagers may watch TV as long as parents are there watching with them and discussing events.
"Last, but certainly not least, we want to make sure parents get across to their children there are law-abiding ethnic groups, good citizens of America," he said. “Don’t exhibit hatred or anger towards them.”
Signs of anxiety in children include them acting out, not sleeping, not eating right, hanging around the house or having tantrums. When that happens, parents should regroup and sit down and talk with the kids. They should come home early from work or take a day off to spend time with kids.
"They need to put it into perspective," Masiello said. "It is time for communities and for families to come together and help each other."
Bob Fisher, a clinical social worker and director of the unit at the Staunton Clinic, said his group is part of an emergency team which has the contract to provide mental health services at Pittsburgh International Airport. Staunton Clinic is a part of the Heritage Valley Health System.
The unit sent a team to the airport immediately after learning of a crash in the event that families were flown in.
"There were so many different rumors about what was happening, people thought Pittsburgh may be a target," he said.
When it was learned that families were not arriving immediately, the team left the airport. Family members are going to be taken to Seven Springs Resort.
"If we’re called to go there, we will," he said.
When his unit was created early in 1990, it was one of the few which did crisis counseling. Now there are a number available. His group counseled people after the USAir Flight 427 crash seven years ago and was involved with people of Mountoursville because French students were killed on a TWA flight in 1996.
Rescue workers tend to throw them into the process for hours on end. They don’t take care of themselves and they don’t absorb emotionally what is occurring. In time, that begins to set in and they can suffer from emotional exhaustion. It helps if they have people to talk about it.
People who are emotionally exhausted speak in a flattened tone and look sad or depressed, Fisher said. Beyond that, their skin tone becomes gray, they have bags under their eyes and they seemed numbed. It is called psychic numbness. After awhile, they may cry. That is why you see firemen in New York who are on breaks crying as it hits home. Many have lost close friends.
They feel they can never do enough, even when they work many hours. That is a feeling of irrational guilt. Some people tend to harbor anger which can lead to depression. Signs of depression include sleeplessness, impaired appetite and sadness all the time.
"When that happens, it’s time to get professional help," he said.
News media from several countries flock to crash site
By SANDRA LEPLEY, Daily American Staff Writer,
Outside of Shanksville, picturesque meadows and corn fields at harvest time have taken on a different look this week as local, national and international media descended upon this area to cover one of four terrorist plane crashes.
Camera crew trucks with satellite dishes, photographers with every imaginable telephoto lens and about 150 people waiting for the next press conference are now part of the landscape as media representatives from around the world live out of their suitcases to bring the world some news about this event.
"This is a beautiful contrast," says Sophia Coudenhove, a freelancer for the Sunday London Times, who is based out of New York City. "In New York, it was very different, complete pandemonium."
Coudenhove says that this "iddlic, rural scenario" would have stayed untouched had it not been for this tragedy.
Two Canadian newsmen from La Presse in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, arrived at the media area on Wednesday and just missed the press conference at noon. They had traveled about 11 hours to get here and found a smaller border crossing in order to pass through more quickly.
"The borders were closed yesterday (Tuesday)," said Yves Boisvert, a reporter at La Presse, who is traveling with fellow photographer Pierre McCann. "We found a very small border that was not busy or else we would have been waiting hours and hours to get through."
Boisvert, who speaks with a thick French accent, says three reporters from La Press went to New York City, one to Washington D.C. and one to Boston, Mass.
"Canadians are very concerned about this incident," said Boisvert. "We depend on America for security. They are allies and friends. We know now that if America was a target, we could be a target also. Many (Canadians) are in disbelief because we had feelings of security because our neighbor was so strong."
Boisvert pointed out that in Canada, as in all parts of the world, children are asking so many questions because their sense of security is in jeopardy and adults do not have any answers themselves.
Another news reporter from the Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Paris, France, happened to be on vacation when the incident occurred but was called back to work immediately.
"This is almost impossible to comprehend," said Thomas Marzahl, a full-time reporter for the AFP who lives and works in Paris, France, but who was in the states for vacation. "This is impossible in a situation like this for any news reporter to put on a reporter's hat and be calm, cool and collected."
Marzahl wrote stories through the night and left abruptly Wednesday afternoon when his editors called him to Washington D.C. He says he loves living in Paris and if he ever moved back to the United States, he would move to Boston, Mass., or San Francisco, Calif., because he loves those cities best.
"Anyone with a heart would be moved by this," said Marzahl before his departure. "This is a worldwide incident with worldwide implications. The world has watched this with shock, horror and disbelief."
When about 150 media people were taken to an area above the site on Wednesday afternoon, the group was very subdued and quiet and at times, all that could be heard was the mechanical noise of camera shutters.
In addition to several television, print, and radio journalists from the area, other reporters on scene were from the Sacramento, Calif., Bee; Columbus, Ohio; Akron, Ohio; Wall Street Journal; USA Today; New York Times; and the Baltimore Sun. Also two students from Bethany College in West Virginia decided to travel to the media area Wednesday to tour the crash site.
Investigators fill Somerset hotels [posted Thursday, September 13th]
By MIKE O’BRIEN, Daily American Staff Writer,
Tuesday's air tragedy near Shanksville, which killed 45 people and is believed to be related to two other terroristic attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., has brought swarms of national media and government agencies to Somerset, pushing local hotels and motels to capacity levels and forcing at least one local wedding party to change its plans.
FBI officials said Wednesday that the recovery effort at the crash site could last anywhere from to three to five weeks, which may conflict with the 20,000 people expected for the state fireman's convention on September 26.
At the Knights Inn in Somerset, manager Janell Patterson said that many of the 112 rooms at the hotel have already been filled by FBI agents, state police and coroners.
Patterson also said that a 50-room wedding party was scheduled for this weekend at Knights Inn, but the bride-to-be agreed to give up many of the reserved rooms in order to house the influx of investigators. She said that some 300 wedding guests will be housed in tents instead, according to the bride.
Patterson also said she received a call Tuesday from United Airlines officials to reserve 30 rooms to house any victims' families for the upcoming weekend. It has been reported that at least one victim's family is on their way out from Newark to view the crash site.
Sharon Mesaros, the front desk manager for 152-room Ramada Inn in Somerset, said FBI and state police have filled the hotel to capacity. She expects the rooms to remain full for a "good while" as the recovery effort continues. Mesaros said she also received a phone call from United Airlines looking to reserve rooms for victims families. She said the Ramada Inn will be able to furnish some rooms for that effort.
The Hampton Inn on Laurel Crest Road in Somerset is currently filled to capacity, according to general manager Jennifer Logue. Red Cross officials and other government agencies are occupying a majority of the 111 sleeping rooms, according to Logue. She said the capacity booking levels were extraordinary for the hotel.
"Actually, we've been overbooked, starting at Tuesday around 10 a.m.," said Mandy Klinkner, a manager on duty at the 102-room Holiday Inn in Somerset. As phones continued to ring behind her, Klinkner said the majority of the reservations were from state troopers and other government agents.
The general manager of the Best Western Executive Inn in Somerset had no comment for this story.
Police guard crash scene, charges may be filed [posted Thursday, September 13th]
[missing author credit]
[missing author credential]
Trooper Tom Spallone, a state police officer stationed in Greensburg, could neither confirm nor deny reports from the local crash scene Tuesday that a television cameraman had picked up debris from the site.
"A rumor was going around to that effect (Tuesday)," he said.
The trooper could say that no arrests had been made as of Wednesday afternoon, although about a half-dozen people had breached the three to five mile search area surrounding the site.
"This is such a big perimeter that someone could have accidentally walked in," Spallone said. "We have to use common sense."
One of the latest incidents happened Wednesday evening, when state police observed a vehicle along state Route 2019, just north of Sky Line Drive, near the crash scene.
Two "males" were found in a nearby field, attempting to get closer to the site, according to police. One was in possession of what police believe is marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Charges are pending.
Spallone said the area near Shanksville, and in particular, a roped-off inner perimeter surrounding the aircraft's remains, continues to be heavily guarded.
"We have 130 officers on the daylight shift and 150 on the night shift," he said. "Or main job is to protect the crime scene."
Those officers have gathered from state police barracks in Somerset, Uniontown, Greensburg, Ebensburg, Indiana, Butler and Pittsburgh, among others, and include men and women from special details within the state police, he said.
"No one area was stripped thin to inadvertently jeopardize any of our citizens," Spallone said.
The state police spokesman said he didn't feel the numbers of officers at the crash site was minimizing police coverage elsewhere.
"I don't think we are spread thin. We’re not at 100 percent, but I don’t think we are spread thin," he said. "It's not like they were all taken from the immediate area."
Memorial Service Precedes tonight Windber Township Football game
By NAN TEMYER, Daily American Correspondent,
DAVIDSVILLE - With patriotism running high, none is more apparent than the Conemaugh Township and Windber school districts working together to prepare a memorial program to honor the victims of the recent terrorist attack on the United States.
This special unity/memorial program is tentatively set for 7 p.m. on the Davidsville athletic field prior to the start of the Windber-Conemaugh Township high school football game.
The program originated with the two schools both wanting to do something in lieu of the tragedy facing America this week.
"We felt more than a moment of silence should be done to show unity," said Jim Foster, Conemaugh Township Area High School assistant principal. "We sat down as a group and pulled the plans together over a two-day period," he said. "This illustrates that despite the longtime rivalries between the two schools, we can still unite as one."
As of Friday evening, plans were still under way to include other community organizations.
The tentative schedule will open with an announcement of the Memorial Ceremony followed by the Windber and Conemaugh Township cheerleaders carrying a huge flag from the end zone. The two football teams will be interlaced at attention facing the center of the field as the combined Black and Red and White and Blue bands play "America the Beautiful."
Following a moment of silence the local fire companies will ring a bell 45 times in honor of the 45 deceased passengers aboard United Airlines flight 93 that crashed near Shanksville. The firemen will then ring an alarm to recognize and honor the firefighters who are working, missing and deceased in the city of New York.
The bands will then play the "Star Spangled Banner" as a group of members of the Conemaugh Township and Windber choruses sing along with them.
After the Ramblers and Indians football teams exit the field to get ready for the coin toss, the bands will play both schools' alma mater. Members of the Connumach Lions Club and a military color guard will also be present for the ceremony.
In addition to the program, members of the Conemaugh Township student council will be located at a designated area yet to be named to accept store-wrapped foods and drinks for the workers at the plane crash site in Somerset County. The items will be delivered to the Shanksville Stonycreek School for distribution.
Also, local firemen will be collecting monetary donations for a firefighters fund that will be used for those working, missing and deceased in New York City.
The program will carry over into the halftime show with more American based songs.
[Is this repeated article going out on Wednesday--the exact same article that first appeared at 8 pm on Tuesday evening? If so, maybe it's to cover up for it's first appearance coming too early.]
International terror touches Somerset County [Wednesday, Sept. 12, repeat of Sept. 11th]
By SANDRA LEPLEY, Daily American Staff Writer,
Somerset County was drawn into a international catastrophe when a Boeing 757 airplane crashed into a former strip mine site outside of Lambertsville in Stonycreek Township on Tuesday morning. All people aboard the plane, 38 passengers and 7 crew members, were believed to be dead.
The Boeing 757 crash was one of four reported Tuesday by United and American airlines. Two jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City and one hit the Pentagon in Washington. Police officials believe this crash in Somerset County is related to the other terrorist attacks.
The United Airline plane, flying from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco, Calif., crashed into a field alongside a wooded area at about 10 a.m. in what appears to be a hijacking incident.
The hijacking panic in the air was recorded just before the crash at 9:58 a.m. when a a man who said he was a passenger locked in a bathroom aboard United Flight 93 called the 911 on his cell phone and repeatedly told officials the call was not a hoax.
"We are being hijacked, we are being hijacked!" dispatch supervisor Glenn Cramer from Westmoreland County quoted the man from a transcript of the call.
The man told dispatchers the plane "was going down. He heard some sort of explosion and saw white smoke coming from the plane and we lost contact with him," Cramer said.
FBI agent Wells Morrison, the special agent on scene who is handling media questions, wouldn't confirm that the plane was hijacked, but said the FBI was reviewing the tape of the 911 call.
"At this point, we're not prepared to say it was an act of terrorism, though it appears to be that," Morrison said.
Rep. James Moran, D-Va., said after a Marine Corps briefing in Washington that Flight 93 was apparently intended for Camp David, the presidential retreat in the mountains of Maryland. The crash site was 85 miles northwest of Camp David.
For Lee Purbaugh, 31, of Listie, the thought of seeing a plane crash right before his eyes still seemed unbelievable to him when interviewed a half-hour later.
"I never in my life thought I would see a plane crash right before my very eyes," said Purbaugh, who was at the wreckage within minutes after the crash.
Purbaugh's second day on the job at Rollock Inc.,a scrap metal company who owns the Diamond T mine, a former PBS mining site directly above the crash site, came with a shocking surprise. The crash happened within 200 yards of Purbaugh's view.
"I happened to hear this noise and looked up," said Purbaugh, who indicated the plane was about 40 to 50 feet above him. "I didn’t know if I should duck or what because this plane was so low but then in a split second it hit."
Purbaugh describes the crash as "just like a big mushroom cloud." He says when it hit, it "shook the ground, rolled over in some way and then collapsed." The crash site itself didn’t look like an airplane had crashed. From a distance, it seemed like a crater in the ground with smoke coming from it.
Purbaugh thought at first it was just a cargo plane carrying some mail because when he ran up to the actual scene, he didn’t notice any carnage, just some mail around. He also noticed a bookbag. He said the pine trees right next to the sight were on fire from the explosion and the fire was also spreading through the woods.
"I knew about the world trade center at that time but I never expected something like this," said Purbaugh. "There was scattereddebris everywhere, some in large chunks, but nothing you could identify. I’m just shocked it happened here."
Mark Stahl of Somerset, who went to the scene immediately afterwards, says, "there's a crater gorged in the earth, the plane is pretty much disintegrated. There's nothing left but scorched trees."
Michael R. Merringer was out on a mountain bike ride with his wife, Amy, about two miles away from the crash site.
"I heard the engine gun two different times and then I heard a loud bang and the windows of the houses all around rattled,"Merringer said. "I looked up and I saw the smoke coming up."
The couple rushed home and drove near the scene.
"Everything was on fire and there was trees knocked down and there was a big hole in the ground," he said.
Purbaugh, Stahl and the Merringers were at the site before state police crews and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrived to secure the entire area as a crime site. All media representatives at the site were directed to leave the scene immediately or be arrested. Police helicopter crews circled overhead every few minutes. Within a few hours, a blitz of media crews were camped out by a cornfield off Little Prarie Lane in Stonycreek Township. More than 100 local, national and international print, television and radio media waited for hourly updates from state police and FBI.
"We are preserving this as a crime scene until we determine whether or not it is an act of terrorism in relationship to what happened in the United States today," said Morrison, the FBI agent in charge of the investigation. Morrison indicated that "scores" of other FBI agents will be coming to Somerset from Pennsylvania and other parts of the country to continue the investigation that may end up taking several days or weeks.He said that the agents will be taking some time to get there because air travel is not allowed.
Morrison said everything must be thoroughly documented if recovered from the crash site. He says that is whythe FBI and State Police, in addition to firefighters and other crews, are working together in a "methodical way."
According to Dave Fox, the local liaison for emergency management, fire crews from Shanksville, Stoystown, Friedens, Listie, Somerset, Central City, Berlin and Hooversville, as well as Somerset Ambulance, were on scene helping with the clean-up.
State Police Trooper Lyle Szupinka, Area 3 commander, who gave hourly updates to media peopledescribed the whole incident as a "great tragedy." Szupinka says all agencies are well working together to corral the site and preserve the evidence.
He says that eyewitnesses to the crash are being questioned and if anyone happenedto be an eyewitness to the crash or otherwise, please call state police in Somerset at 445-4104.
American Red Cross director of Special Events, Chestnut Ridge Chapter, Kristina Dulashaw, explained that an incident like this takes everyone's "collaboration." She worked as a Red Cross representative during the plane crash incident at Aliquippa, Hopewell Township, on Sept. 8, 1994.
"One of our main concerns is the family members and providing any needed mental health services to them when and if they arrive," says Dulashaw. "Our volunteers are trained professionals with experience at handling these kind of traumatic situations."
Betsy Mallison, a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) who is representing the Pennsylvania Emergency Management at the scene,remembersthe horrific plane crash in Hopewell Township in September of 1994.
"I never thought I’d see another one (crash) in my lifetime," says Mallison. "I never wanted to ever see another crash in my lifetime."
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Ridge promises forceful response [posted Wednesday, Sept. 12]
By MIKE O’BRIEN
Daily American Staff Writer
SHANKSVILLE -- Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge promised "a forceful and appropriate response" to those responsible for the "irrational, cowardly, despicable, unconscionable, and immoral" actions that caused United Airlines Flight 93 to crash near Shanksville Tuesday morning. The crash killed all 45 passengers and crew members that were aboard the San Francisco-bound Boeing 757, which had originated from Newark at 8:01 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Daily American Staff Writer
SHANKSVILLE -- Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge promised "a forceful and appropriate response" to those responsible for the "irrational, cowardly, despicable, unconscionable, and immoral" actions that caused United Airlines Flight 93 to crash near Shanksville Tuesday morning. The crash killed all 45 passengers and crew members that were aboard the San Francisco-bound Boeing 757, which had originated from Newark at 8:01 a.m. Tuesday morning.
The downed plane is believed to be related to two terrorist attacks on U.S. soil Tuesday, including the destruction of the World Trade Center Towers in New York City and an attack on the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
The Associated Press has reported that one man aboard Flight 93 used his cell phone to call 911 and tell a dispatcher that the plane was being hijacked. FBI agent Wills Morrison would not confirm Tuesday evening that the plane was hijacked, but did acknowledge that the FBI was reviewing a tape of the 911 call. The crash site is considered a crime scene, although officials have been hesitant to link it to the other terroristic acts of Tuesday morning.
"It's difficult to describe the range of emotions everyone feels when they not only learn about these incidents today, but they’ve actually seen them," Gov. Ridge said. "The dictionary is inadequate, and there just aren't enough words. But I guess the range of emotions goes from rage and anger to sorrow to horror to, I guess, a sense of nausea that we all feel."
By mid-morning state police had cordoned off a three-to-five mile area of land where the plane had crashed. A tour bus was used to shuttle members of the media to a viewing point a few hundred yards from the actual crash site. A state police official told a group of reporters that two people had already been arrested for trespassing in an attempt to take pictures of the wreckage.
After touring the crash site from the air, Ridge commented that "the most telling sign of this horrific tragedy is a large gaping hole."
Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the National Transportation Safety Board said they will begin the "painstaking work" of recovering evidence and any human remains from the site on Wednesday morning.
Ridge said he spoke with the governors of New York and Virginia, where the other attacks occurred, and offered the support of any emergency crews or equipment that may be needed. Ridge said he had not spoken to President Bush at the time of the 6 p.m. press conference.
Ridge also made a plea to his fellow Pennsylvanians for their prayers, their blood donations and their talents to aid in recovering from the terrorist attacks. He said a registry was being set up for people who want to volunteer their talents. Area blood banks are setting up donation centers throughout the week.
"One of the questions I've tried to deal with all day is how to explain to my two children, and to America's children how something like this could happen. There is no rational explanation, because we don't resolve our differences in this country that way. We have to tell them that there are people in this world who don't share the same value system or the same belief system that we do," the governor said.
After the press conference, Ridge said he was headed back to Harrisburg to sign an emergency disaster declaration which will free up additional state money to assist in the relief efforts currently underway.
Witnesses recall plane crash [posted Wednesday, Sept. 12]
By BOBBIE BLACK
Daily American Lifestyles Editor
Bob Blair was completing a routine drive to Shade Creek just after 10 a.m. Tuesday, when he saw a huge silver plane fly past him just above the treetops and crash into the woods along Lambertsville Road.
Daily American Lifestyles Editor
Bob Blair was completing a routine drive to Shade Creek just after 10 a.m. Tuesday, when he saw a huge silver plane fly past him just above the treetops and crash into the woods along Lambertsville Road.
Blair, of Stoystown, a driver with Jim Barron Trucking of Somerset, was traveling in a coal truck along with Doug Miller of Somerset, when they saw the plane spiraling to the ground and then explode on the outskirts of Lambertsville.
"I saw the plane flying upside down overhead and crash into the nearby trees. My buddy, Doug, and I grabbed our fire extinguishers and ran to the scene," said Blair.
"I saw the mushroom cloud and we called 911 right away," added Blair. "I knew with that crash that it wasn't likely there were survivors, but we had to go anyways. The plane was coming in on a slant and really hit the treeline at an angle."
Lambertsville resident George Beckett was going to visit his mother-in-law Lucy Menear, when the accident occurred. "I had been planning to go in those woods (where the plane crashed) and start looking for some hunting sites. I was going to start right where the plane came down."
Menear, who lives across from the Lambertsville Road at the intersection where a graveled road leads to the crash site near the strip mine, said, "I felt the ground shake with the impact. I didn’t know the plane had crashed. It was just a big jolt."
Laura Temyer of Hooversville RD1 was hanging her clothes outside to dry before she went to work Tuesday morning when she heard what she thought was an airplane.
"Normally I wouldn't look up, but I just heard on the news that all the planes were grounded and thought this was probably the last one I would see for a while, so I looked up," she said. "I didn't see the plane but I heard the plane's engine. Then I heard a loud thump that echoed off the hills and then I heard the plane's engine. I heard two more loud thumps and didn't hear the plane's engine anymore after that."
She thinks it might have been the plane that went down near Indian Lake in Somerset County.
A plane going over Shanksville wasn’t anything unusual because it is a military flight corridor, said Kelly Leverknight, who lives in Shanksville, just a couple miles from the crash scene.
"I was sitting in my living room when I heard a plane. I ran out to the front porch and watched it go down," she said. "There was no smoke, it just went straight down. I saw the belly of the plane."
She said she heard the explosion, felt the blast, then saw smoke and fire coming out.
"I thought it hit the school," she said.
She didn’t have a car, so she ran to the neighbor's house and the two drove to where the plane had crashed and went into the trees.
"The grass was burned. We saw a bunch of paper and pieces no bigger than a foot around scattered all over the place," she said. "We didn't think there were people on the plane because we didn't see anybody."
Kim Custer, 15, a tenth grader at Shanksville Stonycreek High School, said she was on the second floor of the school, located only a few miles from the crash site, when the plane went down.
"I looked up and saw the ceiling tiles jump up and down, then I felt the whole building shake," she said. "Then we heard a big boom, and a few minutes later the fire alarm system went off, so we all got out of there," she said.
Custer and other classmates had been following the events unfolding in New York City and Washington, DC when the plane went down.
"I was very scared," she said.
(Several other Daily American reporters contributed to this report)
Murtha speaks on tragedy and terrorism [posted Wednesday, Sept. 12]
By BRIAN SCHROCK
Daily American Staff Writer
JOHNSTOWN -- U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha said the federal government was on a heightened state of alert for a month and a half prior to Tuesday's terrorist attacks over reports that a military installation in Washington, D.C., was scheduled to be "hit."
The congressman also speculated that the terrorists who purportedly took over the Boeing 757 jetliner that crashed near Shanksville Tuesday were aiming for another target, perhaps "a second shot at the Pentagon, the Capitol or the White House itself."
"Their destination was sure not an open field in a rural part of Pennsylvania," Rep. Murtha said.
"I thought we were fortunate that plane didn't hit a populated area. It was fortunate it didn't come down somewhere in Johnstown," he added.
The congressman made his remarks via telephone during a brief press conference at the Cambria County Airport. Murtha is scheduled to arrive at the airport this morning and then travel to the crash scene.
Airport air traffic manager Dennis Fritz said the large airplane was never visible from the airport’s control tower, despite reports that it passed within 15 miles of the airport, descending at 6,000 feet.
"It had to be very low on the ridge line for us not to be able to see it,” he said. "You should be able to see, from 15 to 20 miles away, an aircraft that size."
Moments earlier, the tower received a call from the FAA Control Center in Cleveland, Ohio, indicating the plane was not under center control and was "doing unusual maneuvers at a low level," he said.
The airport was unable to establish radio contact with the plane before it crashed about 14 miles south in a field in Lambertsville.
Radar showed the San Francisco-bound United Airlines Flight 93 from Newark, N.J., had nearly reached Cleveland when it made a sharp left turn and headed back toward Pennsylvania, according to the Associated Press.
Airport Director Joe McKelvey said the airport was placed under a full security alert and closed following the accident. Twelve other aircraft landed on the tarmac during the day.
The airport was accepting only certain aircraft Tuesday afternoon, among them a state police aircraft and United Airlines jetliner. The airline officials were transporting equipment from the plane to the crash scene in rental trucks, according to McKelvey.
Murtha called the Tuesday’s acts "a barbaric attack by fanatic people.
"We are committed to locating them and retaliating as quickly as we can," he said.
The congressman called from outside the Capitol, where he said he could still see the smoke billowing from the Pentagon. Murtha said the pungent smell from the charred remains was reminiscent of Vietnam during the war.
"This was certainly a tragic day," he said.
The attack "took a slice" out of the Pentagon and caused five floors to cave, Murtha said. Preliminary estimates put the damage at as much as $350 million, he added.
Murtha speculated the planes were taken because they were on cross-country trips and were swelled with fuel, which could cause the same damage as smuggled explosives.
The congressman said he hoped Tuesday’s events would not push the country closer to a police state. "It's almost distasteful (already) that you can't get into the Capitol without going through metal detectors," he said.
Local schools, businesses react to tragedy
By JENNIFER THOMAS, Daily American Staff Writer,
As news that a commercial flight had crashed in Somerset County near Shanksville spread, school administrators and businesses were faced with the issue of safety and whether to remain open or close their doors.
Dr. Michael Dillon, executive of the Appalachia Intermediate Unit 8, which serves Somerset County and Blair, Bedford, Cambria counties, called the emergency management agency and recommended that schools not be released early so children would not be going home to empty houses. But the decision was being made at each individual school.
Several hours after the crash three local school districts made the decision to dismiss early, sending students home to family.
In the Rockwood School District, superintendent Andy Demidont said the school took the advice of local law enforcement.
“We had spoken to the local fire department and as a precautionary measure to them they requested that we dismiss.”
Dr. John Baraniak, superintendent of the Somerset School District said the district waited until 12:30 to begin dismissing students to make sure they could get home safety and that someone would be home to meet them.
“I wanted to make sure that if we did leave the students out we could get them home safely,” he said. “I wanted to think both sides through before making a decision.”
Baraniak said the district has a close working relationship with the borough police and they recommended dismissing the students.
He commends the teachers and administration for their help in trying to keep things as normal as possible.
Classes also released early at Allegany Community College’s Somerset Campus.
In the Shanksville-Stonycreek School District, which is closest to the crash site, classes continued. If they wished, parents could pick their children up at the school to bring them home.
Others also made the tough decision to keep students in class, but moving education forward on as usual was a challenge.
“Almost impossible,” said North Star superintendent J. Pat Terlingo. “And probably every school in the US would feel the same way.”
He said the day was full of questions, from students, teachers, parents and even himself as to why the events occurred.
Terlingo said the district made the decision to stay in school for a number of reasons, but the most important on being that to dismiss early would send more than half of the district’s students home to empty houses. He said parents had the option of picking students up themselves if they wanted.
He also said emergency management recommended keeping students until their regular time.
“It was a very hard decision to make,” he said. “If we were going to err we were going to err on the side of safety he said.”
Preparing to respond to the plane crash, Somerset Hospital discontinued all elective procedures Tuesday until further notice. According to Greg Chiappelli,spokesperson for Somerset Hospital, the hospital will go back to normal operations today and elective operations will go on as scheduled. People who had elective procedures canceled Tuesday will have them rescheduled.
Chiappelli also asked that people donate blood. He said the hospital is in the process of setting up a station for people who want to donate blood.
A number of blood drives have already been scheduled. The first is scheduled for Sept. 13 at Gilmour Manufacturing from 12:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.; Sept. 17 at the Berlin Community building from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m.; Sept. 19 at Seven Springs Mountain Resort Fox Den from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. and at Rockwood’s St. Luke’s Lutheran Church from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m.
Government offices responded by closing and a number of businesses also made a similar decision. In Conemaugh Township the Municipal Authority shut down. The Galleria closed early Tuesday morning after the area around the Cambria County Airport was cordoned off. Both Verizon and AT&T wireless closed their doors. The Windber and Somerset County libraries closed.
In Somerset, the Factory Shops at Georgian Place, Gilmour Manufacturing, Somerset Furniture Sales, Fleetwood Folding Trailers and the Somerset Historical Center were all closed.
Branches of Promistar and Ameriserve Banks also closed for the afternoon.
A message at Ameriserve Financial said the bank closed as a “precautionary measure, not an emergency closing.” It also said the bank plans to reopen tomorrow.
As the community deals with the aftermath of this tragedy religious services are being planned. A prayer service will be held in response tomorrow at Friedens Lutheran Church at 7:15 p.m.
School sports schedules uncertain in wake of attacks
By BRADLEY KEIM
Daily American Sports Writer
Tuesday's tragic incidents, including the crash of a passenger jet near Shanksville, caused Somerset County area schools to postpone all scheduled sporting events for the day. While most schools plan to be in session today, whether their sporting events carry on as normal is up in the air.
"There were no practices and there were no games, we completely canceled all after-school activities," said Windber athletic director Ralph DeMarco. “At this time we’re going to try to go to school (today) and run things as normally as we possibly can under the circumstances."
Like Windber, Conemaugh Township students stayed in school until their normal dismissal time Tuesday and canceled extracurricular events including a home boys and girls soccer doubleheader against Westmont.
"The top thing (Tuesday) was to make sure all the kids were safe and that they got home ... and they did,"Conemaugh Township schools superintendent Jerry Davitch said.
"I think most of us are going to wake up (today) feeling worse ... following the complete tragedy of (Tuesday’s) events. I would not be surprised at all if all athletic events across the country are canceled though this weekend, at the national, collegiate and local levels. ... At the high school level I think there's going to be a lot of soul-searching, especially in the short run, about priorities."
DeMarco agreed that after-school activities, including weekend football games, do not top anyone's list of priorities.
"The game is not the most important thing right now," he said, adding that schools will likely take a wait-and-see approach.
"I don’t have an answer," DeMarco said as to whether events would continue as scheduled. "I don’t think the state government, the federal government hasn't said we’re going to do this, thisor this, so locally you do the best you can."
"As of now we’re just hanging in here and watching what happens,” Salisbury AD Marty Kemp said. "We're just going to play it by ear," he added as for the rest of the week.
Shanksville, whose school district covers the crash site, postponed its home volleyball match Tuesday but has no other regularly scheduled home sporting events this week.
"We don't know what’s going on at our school from this point on," Shanksville AD Jeff Kimmel said.
Somerset AD Jason Ablon said "I'm not even sure if we will have school," today but did say Wednesday’s schedule might still go on as planned.
Meyersdale did not have any events scheduled for today.
Most would agree that having a jet crash, apparently at the hands of terrorists, in Somerset County was too close for comfort.
"When that happened that kind of hit home,” said Kemp.
Tuesday’s attacks also hit close to home for Davitch whose sons are both involved with the U.S. Air Force. One is an Air Force Academy student and the other is a member of the Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps.
"It certainly brings it all a lot closer," Davitch said.
posted 8 p.m.
International terror touches Somerset County
By SANDRA LEPLEY
Daily American Staff Writer
Somerset County was drawn into a international catastrophe when a Boeing 757 airplane crashed into a former strip mine site outside of Lambertsville in Stonycreek Township on Tuesday morning. All people aboard the plane, 38 passengers and 7 crew members, were believed to be dead.
The Boeing 757 crash was one of four reported Tuesday by United and American airlines. Two jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City and one hit the Pentagon in Washington. Police officials believe this crash in Somerset County is related to the other terrorist attacks.
The United Airline plane, flying from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco, Calif.,crashed into a field alongside a wooded area at about 10 a.m. in what appears to be a hijacking incident.
The hijacking panic in the air was recorded just before the crash at 9:58 a.m. when a a man who said he was a passenger locked in a bathroom aboard United Flight 93 called the 911 on his cell phone and repeatedly told officials the call was not a hoax.
"We are being hijacked, we are being hijacked!" dispatch supervisor Glenn Cramer from Westmoreland County quoted the man from a transcript of the call.
The man told dispatchers the plane "was going down. He heard some sort of explosion and saw white smoke coming from the plane and we lost contact with him," Cramer said.
FBI agent Wells Morrison, the special agent on scene who is handling media questions, wouldn’t confirm that the plane was hijacked, but said the FBI was reviewing the tape of the 911 call.
"At this point, we’re not prepared to say it was an act of terrorism, though it appears to be that," Morrison said.
Rep. James Moran, D-Va., said after a Marine Corps briefing in Washington that Flight 93 was apparently intended for Camp David, the presidential retreat in the mountains of Maryland. The crash site was 85 miles northwest of Camp David.
For Lee Purbaugh, 31, of Listie, the thought of seeing a plane crash right before his eyes still seemed unbelievable to him when interviewed a half-hour later.
"I never in my life thought I would see a plane crash right before my very eyes," said Purbaugh, who was at the wreckage within minutes after the crash.
Purbaugh's second day on the job at Rollock Inc., a scrap metal company who owns the Diamond T mine, a former PBS mining site directly above the crash site, came with a shocking surprise. The crash happened within 200 yards of Purbaugh’s view.
"I happened to hear this noise and looked up," said Purbaugh, who indicated the plane was about 40 to 50 feet above him. "I didn't know if I should duck or what because this plane was so low but then in a split second it hit."
Purbaugh describes the crash as "just like a big mushroom cloud." He says when it hit, it "shook the ground, rolled over in some way and then collapsed." The crash site itself didn’t look like an airplane had crashed. From a distance, it seemed like a crater in the ground with smoke coming from it.
Purbaugh thought at first it was just a cargo plane carrying some mail because when he ran up to the actual scene, he didn’t notice any carnage, just some mail around. He also noticed a bookbag. He said the pine trees right next to the sight were on fire from the explosion and the fire was also spreading through the woods.
"I knew about the world trade center at that time but I never expected something like this," said Purbaugh. "There was scattered debris everywhere, some in large chunks, but nothing you could identify. I’m just shocked it happened here."
Mark Stahl of Somerset, who went to the scene immediately afterwards, says, "there's a crater gorged in the earth, the plane is pretty much disintegrated. There's nothing left but scorched trees."
Michael R. Merringer was out on a mountain bike ride with his wife, Amy, about two miles away from the crash site.
"I heard the engine gun two different times and then I heard a loud bang and the windows of the houses all around rattled," Merringer said. "I looked up and I saw the smoke coming up."
The couple rushed home and drove near the scene.
"Everything was on fire and there was trees knocked down and there was a big hole in the ground," he said.
Purbaugh, Stahl and the Merringers were at the site before state police crews and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrived to secure the entire area as a crime site. All media representatives at the site were directed to leave the scene immediately or be arrested. Police helicopter crews circled overhead every few minutes. Within a few hours, a blitz of media crews were camped out by a cornfield off Little Prarie Lane in Stonycreek Township. More than 100 local, national and international print, television and radio media waited for hourly updates from state police and FBI.
"We are preserving this as a crime scene until we determine whether or not it is an act of terrorism in relationship to what happened in the United States today," said Morrison, the FBI agent in charge of the investigation. Morrison indicated that "scores" of other FBI agents will be coming to Somerset from Pennsylvania and other parts of the country to continue the investigation that may end up taking several days or weeks. He said that the agents will be taking some time to get there because air travel is not allowed.
Morrison said everything must be thoroughly documented if recovered from the crash site. He says that is why the FBI and State Police, in addition to firefighters and other crews, are working together in a "methodical way."
According to Dave Fox, the local liaison for emergency management, fire crews from Shanksville, Stoystown, Friedens, Listie, Somerset, Central City, Berlin and Hooversville, as well as Somerset Ambulance, were on scene helping with the clean-up.
State Police Trooper Lyle Szupinka, Area 3 commander, who gave hourly updates to media people, described the whole incident as a "great tragedy." Szupinka says all agencies are well working together to corral the site and preserve the evidence.
He says that eyewitnesses to the crash are being questioned and if anyone happened to be an eyewitness to the crash or otherwise, please call state police in Somerset at 445-4104.
American Red Cross director of Special Events, Chestnut Ridge Chapter, Kristina Dulashaw, explained that an incident like this takes everyone's "collaboration." She worked as a Red Cross representative during the plane crash incident at Aliquippa, Hopewell Township, on Sept. 8, 1994.
"One of our main concerns is the family members and providing any needed mental health services to them when and if they arrive," says Dulashaw. "Our volunteers are trained professionals with experience at handling these kind of traumatic situations."
Betsy Mallison, a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) who is representing the Pennsylvania Emergency Management at the scene, remembers the horrific plane crash in Hopewell Township in September of 1994.
"I never thought I’d see another one (crash) in my lifetime," says Mallison. "I never wanted to ever see another crash in my lifetime."
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
posted 4:25
Emergency crews coordinate crash response
By VICKI ROCK
Daily American Staff Writer
A former state police trooper saw United Airlines Flight 93 shortly before it crashed near Shanksville.
Larry Williams, who is now a private investigator in Boswell, was golfing on the 17th green at Oakbrook Golf Course about eight miles away when he heard the engines “roar real loud and shut off."
The plane banked, then gained altitude, turned left and then went straight down, he said. It landed in a coal strip mine field.
"There was no fire or smoke, it was just like the engines shut off," Williams said. "I told the guys I was golfing with that plane's a commercial flight. It sounds like it's in trouble. I thought it was trying to head to the Johnstown Airport. I didn't see anything after that."
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency said the Boeing 757 was en route from Newark, N.J. to San Francisco. There were 45 people on board and no survivors. The plane was being monitored by the FAA Control Center in Cleveland, Ohio, which lost contact at 35,000 feet.
Allegheny County sent an air search crew to verify that a crash occurred, according to Somerset County Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes, who was serving as media coordinator. State police and all emergency services crews from Somerset and Fayette counties responded to the scene with assistance from Westmoreland and Cambria counties. The FBI, National Transportation Safety Board, and FAA went to the scene. Dave Fox, from the emergency management office, was at the scene serving as media coordinator there.
Richard Lohr, director of Somerset County Emergency Management, said Cambria and Fayette county 911 centers sent people to the Somerset center to assist in handling calls. The City of Pittsburgh sent paramedics here. The top floor of the parking garage was closed to be used as a staging area.
Artis Kitchens and Barry Shaffer, members of the Somerset County Amateur Radio Club, were in the emergency management conference room to establish communications between emergency management agency, the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
"We'll also send amateur radio operators to the scene to help with communications there," Kitchens said. "We want to make sure there's plenty of communications in the fields. We did the same for the tornadoes and floods."
District Attorney Jerry Spangler said because of problems with telephones, state Attorney General Mike Fisher e-mailed him and asked him to call with information.
Don Barclay, Bedford-Somerset Mental Health/Mental Retardation Agency, went to the 911 center to say mental health teams were available to meet with emergency crews.
State Rep. Bob Bastian (R-69th District) issued the following statement: "Our thoughts and prayers are with those who lost their lives in the tragic events of Tuesday in New York City, Washington, D.C. and right here in our own backyard."
"Because we have become the world's policeman we are hated by many in the world, but I would hope that before we start pointing fingers of blame, all of us need to stand behind our President, pray for him and for those who lost their lives and their families’ terrible loss."
He asked people to donate blood for the New York City and Washington, D.C. areas are in need of large amounts of blood.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected," Bastian said.
News of the airplane crashes in New York prompted officials at SCI-Laurel Highlands, one of the county’s two state prisons, to order a full-scale lockdown of the facility.
Prisoners were locked in their cells and inmates who were outside the facility on work details were brought back inside, according to public information officer Betsy Nightingale.
Nightingale said the lockdown was lifted around 2 p.m.
The prison continued to operate as it would on a holiday with minimal staffing, she added, meaning there was limited movement of the prison’s 412 inmates.
The county's other state prison, SCI-Somerset, could not be reached by telephone. SCI-Somerset has just under 2,000 inmates
posted 2:00 p.m.
45 die in jet crash
By VICKI ROCK, Daily American Staff Writer,
A jet crashed near Shanksville, Somerset County, about 10 a.m. Tuesday killing its 45 passengers.
Larry Williams, a former state police trooper who is now a private investigator, was golfing on the 17th green at Oakbrook Golf Course about eight miles away when he heard the engines "roar real loud and shut off."
The plane banked, then gained altitude, turned left and then went straight down, he said. It landed in a coal strip mine field.
"There was no fire or smoke, it was just like the engines shut off," Williams said. "I told the guys I was golfing with that plane's a commercial flight. It sounds like it's in trouble. I thought it was trying to head to the Johnstown Airport. I didn't see anything after that."
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency said the United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757, was en route from Newark, N.J. to San Francisco. There were 45 people on board and no survivors. The plane was being monitored by the FAA Control Center in Cleveland, Ohio, which lost contact at 35,000 feet.
Allegheny County sent an air search crew to verify the crash, according to Somerset County Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes, who was serving as media coordinator. All emergency services crews from Somerset and Fayette counties responded to the scene with assistance from Westmoreland and Cambria counties.
Emergency crews respond to the scene of an airplane crash Tuesday morning near Shanksville, Somerset County, Pa. A United Airlines Boeing 757 traveling from Newark N.J. to San Francisco, Calif. crashed into a coal strip mine.
It was reported that a total of 45 persons were on board. There were no survivors. (Photo by Dave Escherch/ Daily American) Dave Fox, from the emergency management office, was at the scene serving as media coordinator there.
Richard Lohr, director of Somerset County Emergency Management, said Cambria and Fayette county 911 centers sent people to the Somerset center to assist in handling calls. The top floor of the parking garage was closed to be used as a staging area.
Dr. Michael Dillon, executive of the Appalachia Intermediate Unit 8, which serves Somerset County and Blair, Bedford, Cambria counties, called the emergency management agency and recommended that schools not be released early so children would not be going home to empty houses. But the decision was being made at each individual school.
District Attorney Jerry Spangler said because of problems with telephones, state Attorney General Mike Fisher e-mailed him and asked him to call with information. The FBI went to the scene.
Don Barclay, Bedford-Somerset Mental Health/Mental Retardation Agency, went to the 911 center to say mental health teams were available to meet with emergency crews.
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