Sept. 11 service planned for 6 p.m. Wednesday at Courthouse Square

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 September 2019 at 8:43 pm

File photo by Tom Rivers: Local veterans were part of the memorial ceremony on Sept. 11, 2015 outside the Orleans County Courthouse by the 9-11 memorial.

ALBION – There will be a Sept. 11 memorial observance at 6 p.m. on Wednesday by the 9-11 monument near the Orleans County Courthouse.

The service is being put together by Scott Schmidt, the Orleans County chief coroner, and Dale Banker, the Emergency Management Office director for the county. They stepped up to plan the service when none was scheduled for the 18th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Schmidt is a member of the U.S. Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team. He left for New York City on Sept. 11, 2001 to help collect and identify remains. He was there for 20 days, interviewing family members and helping to carefully catalog human remains.

The service on Wednesday includes an opening prayer by Don Snyder, chaplain for the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department.

Banker will also speak about the community’s appreciation for first responders, while Schmidt gives the memorial address, sharing some of his experiences in New York City after the World Trade Center towers were toppled.

The Honor Guard also is expected to be at the service.

Return to top