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County prepares to celebrate freedom, remember Sept. 11
By JIM ROSS, Times Staff Writer The first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is a little more than one month away, and Citrus residents are planning ways the county can come together and mark the historic day. One of the major ceremonies will begin at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 11 at Courthouse Square in downtown Inverness. It will be called Celebrate America's Freedoms: A Day of Remembrance. Organizing the secular, patriotic ceremony are local activist Mary-Ann Virgilio and Kathy Turner Thompson, historical resources director for the county. Local dignitaries are expected to attend, Virgilio said. The event is free and open to the public. Later, at 7 p.m., the local chapter of Somebody Cares will sponsor a tribute at Rock Crusher Canyon. That event also will be free and open to the public. Somebody Cares is a national Christian organization. The ceremony will feature a choir, the reading of the Gettysburg Address, a tribute to local police and fire departments and appearances by local dignitaries, according to Dave Shirkey, director of the Citrus chapter of Somebody Cares. Since Sept. 11, "a lot of people have opened up to spiritual things who beforehand had not," said Shirkey, who also is senior pastor at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship church south of Inverness and president of the Citrus Christian Clergy Association. "That's why we felt this needed to be patriotic and spiritual, because people are looking for answers," he said. Shirkey said Somebody Cares helps feed the hungry, works with people who are battling addictions and assists in other social ministries. The clergy association sponsors the local chapter of Somebody Cares. Shirkey said Rock Crusher Canyon donated its venue and can accommodate more than 7,000 guests. "I felt like rather than one local church trying to do it we ought to reach across the county and try to bring our people together," Shirkey said. If possible, he said, Somebody Cares hopes to sponsor an event like this every year to remember what happened Sept. 11, 2001. -- Times staff writer Bridget Hall Grumet contributed to this report.
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