By Aimee Hancock
TROY — The Board of Miami County Commissioners heard from Miami County Veterans Services (MCVS) Executive Director Selena Loyd on Tuesday regarding a memorial event in the works for this September.
Sept. 11, 2021, marks the 20th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York City. Loyd has joined together with Valerie Mullikin, of the Miami County Agricultural Society, to plan a three-day event memorializing the collapse of the Towers and honoring first responders.
The event, which will be held Friday, Sept. 10, through Sunday, Sept. 12, will involve planned activities, live music, food trucks, a scavenger hunt, prizes, a parade, camping, and a dance. The event will also include the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s “9/11 NEVER FORGET” mobile exhibit for all three days. The exhibit was launched in 2013 and is a tribute to those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, including 343 members of the fire department of New York City. It is an 83-foot tractor-trailer that transforms into a 1,100-square-foot exhibit in an effort to further educate people about the events of the Sept. 11 attacks. The exhibit travels around the country year each year.
According to Loyd, this exhibit costs $10,000 per day to lease, and a member of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation will also come to facilitate the educational experience of the memorial. Loyd said funds for the memorial itself have already been secured by MCVS.
Loyd and Mullikin said they are currently soliciting donors and sponsors to assist in funding the rest of the event. All monies left after paying for the event itself will be donated to local police and fire departments/organizations. To donate, payment may be mailed to Julie Millhouse, MCAS Secretary, 650 N. County Road 25-A, Troy, OH 45373, or donations can be picked up by calling (937) 440-8126. Checks can be made payable to MCAS, with “9/11 support” in the memo.
While MCVS continues to plan this event for September with the help of the Miami County Agricultural Society (MCAS), they are in need of volunteers to help set up and tear down the mobile exhibit, as well as volunteers to help in various capacities for the event. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact MCVS at (937) 440-8126 or MCAS at (937) 335-7492. The event will be free and open to the public, pending pandemic restrictions and regulations at the time.
All three commissioners expressed their support for the 9/11 memorial event.
Also during Tuesday’s meeting of commissioners:
• A date to re-bid the project to replace the Range Line Road Bridge No. 6.75 four-sided precast concrete box culvert was set for Tuesday, April 27, 2021, at 9:05 a.m. in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room.
• A temporary easement was granted for Transportation Improvement Project purposes, as requested by the city of Troy, for a 0.032-acre widening of State Route 41 (West Main Street) to include at least one 12-foot-wide through lane in each direction, reconstructing the sidewalk and curb lawn along the corridor upsizing a water main along a portion of West Main Street and improving the stormwater system along the corridor for a length of 0.88 miles.
• Employee requisitions were signed to fill the following positions: eligibility referral specialist for Job and Family Services; a seasonal summer laborer for the Sanitary Engineering Department; and administrator for the Miami County Commissioners.
The commissioners will be attending Tipp City Rotary Club on Wednesday, April 7, at noon, in the Monroe Township Building.
