Tributes In Coachella Valley To Mark 20th 9/11 Anniversary

COACHELLA VALLEY, CA — Cities throughout the Coachella Valley Saturday will mark the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with various ceremonies.

Starting at 8:15 a.m., an art memorial paying homage to the World Trade Center Twin Towers will be unveiled at the Cathedral City Fire Station 411, 68950 Buddy Rogers Ave. The ceremony will conclude with a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., recognizing the time the first plane struck the World Trade Center in New York City.

The memorial was designed by Cathedral City Fire Capt. Corey Goddard and fabricated by Jason Carlin, a local businessman, according to the city.

The Palm Springs Fire Department will host a 9/11 remembrance event at the Palm Springs Fire Station 2 at 300 N. El Cielo Road in Palm Springs. The event will run from 8:30 a.m. to noon and feature special guest speakers, the Palm Springs Fire Department honor guard, food trucks and live music.

The Palm Springs Air Museum will conduct a flyover of the Coachella Valley and the High Desert in honor of local first responders. The flyover will begin at 9:45 a.m., passing first over Palm Springs Fire Station 2, in honor of its 9-11 memorial service. From there, the fleet of aircraft will pass over 27 local city and county fire stations in the Coachella Valley and High Desert, including the 29 Palms Marine Base. The length of time in the air will be approximately 40 minutes. The aircraft will fly east over Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage (County Fire Department), Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio, Bermuda Dunes, Thousand Palms, Morongo Valley and San Bernardino County Fire Stations, ending at 29 Palms.

Indio will host a 9/11 sustainability event from 9 a.m. to noon at the Indio Water Authority located at 83101 Avenue 45. The city will provide a number of waste disposal services for residents, including collecting tires, disposing of used oil and oil filters, and disposing of electronic waste.

Those attending the event will receive a small shade tree to plant in their yards in honor of U.S. Marine Cpl. Hunter Lopez, an Indio resident who was one of 13 service members killed in a bombing in Afghanistan last month.

La Quinta will hold a candlelight vigil from 7-8 p.m. at the La Quinta Civic Center at 78495 Calle Tampico. The ceremony will feature musical performances, speeches from local dignitaries and public art composed from World Trade Center building remnants. Lopez will also be honored as a part of the ceremony.

—City News Service