County Holds 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony

A remembrance service marking the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks is planned at 9:30 a.m. Friday outside the County Administrative Center in downtown Riverside.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Marion Ashley will be joined by Supervisor Chuck Washington, a U.S. Navy veteran, Sheriff Stan Sniff, a U.S. Army reservist, and county fire Chief John Hawkins for the half-hour tribute.

According to county officials, there will be a ceremonial bell-ringing in memory of the lives lost at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and aboard Flight 93.

A color guard display is scheduled, and patriotic symbols will adorn the grounds fronting the administration building, officials said.

In previous years, the 22-floor complex was draped in four enormous American flags to memorialize the occasion. Supervisor John Tavaglione, a U.S. Army veteran, inaugurated the practice immediately after the 9/11 attacks, using his own campaign funds to pay for the banners.

His spokesman, John Field, told City News Service that this week’s turbulent weather raised concerns that the banners might be damaged, so the they will not be unfurled.

“If the winds blow like they have been, the flags -- which are getting old and tattered -- won’t survive,” Field said. “Hopefully (they’ll reappear) next year.”

The memorial ceremony is free and open to the public.

• --City News Service, photo via Shutterstock