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Ten years have passed since terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners and forever altered national landmarks across the country.
While it is easy to see the impact the events of Sept. 11, 2001, have had on New York, Washington, D.C., and the country as a whole, several members of the East Peoria community still remember the infamous day and can see changes in their day-to-day lives because of it.
“(Firefighters’) jobs have always been dangerous, but now we have to keep (terrorist attacks) in the back of our mind when we have city functions like July 4 and the Festival of Lights,” said East Peoria Assistant Fire Chief Rick Ward.
East Peoria Police Chief Ed Papis said the events of 9/11 placed a greater responsibility on the police department to “think outside the box.”
“Shortly after (9/11), homeland security was implemented and intelligence information was intensified between the federal, state and local law enforcement entities,” Papis said. “Thinking-outside-the-box training regarding terrorists and their zeal to destroy our way of life was heightened.”
Even though school policies at East Peoria Community High School were not changed significantly after the events of 9/11, one EPCHS teacher said he could see students’ attitudes change over the last 10 years.
“School policy has not changed much, by state policy we say the Pledge of Allegiance every morning, which is new since 9/11,” said Marty Green, a teacher at EPCHS. “I think our students have a greater understanding of global events and the effect on our country and their lives since 9/11.”
As is the case with many Americans, Ward, Papis and Green all remember where they were when they heard of the terrorist attacks and were able to recall the gamut of emotions they experienced.
At EPCHS, where Green was teaching government and economics at the time, he helped turn the events of 9/11 into a historical lesson for the students.
“After we found out about the attacks, we watched the news coverage on television. Although we did not know many details, there were many teachable moments,” he said. “We discussed the Empire State Building being hit by a plane during World War II and the first World Trade Center bombing. We even discussed the difference between speculation and news coverage as the day went on.”
He added that students’ attitudes on 9/11 changed throughout the day.
“Student reactions varied as time went by,” Green said. “At first, students were curious and stunned (and) as time passed, they became angry and questioned why.
Ten years have passed since terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners and forever altered national landmarks across the country.
While it is easy to see the impact the events of Sept. 11, 2001, have had on New York, Washington, D.C., and the country as a whole, several members of the East Peoria community still remember the infamous day and can see changes in their day-to-day lives because of it.
“(Firefighters’) jobs have always been dangerous, but now we have to keep (terrorist attacks) in the back of our mind when we have city functions like July 4 and the Festival of Lights,” said East Peoria Assistant Fire Chief Rick Ward.
East Peoria Police Chief Ed Papis said the events of 9/11 placed a greater responsibility on the police department to “think outside the box.”
“Shortly after (9/11), homeland security was implemented and intelligence information was intensified between the federal, state and local law enforcement entities,” Papis said. “Thinking-outside-the-box training regarding terrorists and their zeal to destroy our way of life was heightened.”
Even though school policies at East Peoria Community High School were not changed significantly after the events of 9/11, one EPCHS teacher said he could see students’ attitudes change over the last 10 years.
“School policy has not changed much, by state policy we say the Pledge of Allegiance every morning, which is new since 9/11,” said Marty Green, a teacher at EPCHS. “I think our students have a greater understanding of global events and the effect on our country and their lives since 9/11.”
As is the case with many Americans, Ward, Papis and Green all remember where they were when they heard of the terrorist attacks and were able to recall the gamut of emotions they experienced.
At EPCHS, where Green was teaching government and economics at the time, he helped turn the events of 9/11 into a historical lesson for the students.
“After we found out about the attacks, we watched the news coverage on television. Although we did not know many details, there were many teachable moments,” he said. “We discussed the Empire State Building being hit by a plane during World War II and the first World Trade Center bombing. We even discussed the difference between speculation and news coverage as the day went on.”
He added that students’ attitudes on 9/11 changed throughout the day.
“Student reactions varied as time went by,” Green said. “At first, students were curious and stunned (and) as time passed, they became angry and questioned why.
“As the year went on they came to understand that things in their daily lives were changing and would continue to change,” he added.
Papis, who was commander of the detective bureau of the Peoria Police Department in 2001, said that he and the officers he worked with were “shocked” by the day’s events.
“As can be expected, we were all very shocked by the turn of events and how it seemed inconceivable that we could be attacked by terrorists on our soil with such a loss of lives and property,” he said.
Despite the devastation to morale that the attacks caused, East Peoria showed generosity to those directly affected on 9/11.
“The week after the attack the union got together and collected money at the four corners in town,” said Ward. “The outpouring of support was unbelievable from people. (They) were sorry that they didn’t have more money to give. It was incredible. The union collected over $60,000 in an afternoon.”
Ward added that eight firefighters joined a group from Peoria and Pekin to stand at funerals of firefighters who lost their lives in the attack.
While policies around town have changed since the terrorist attacks of 10 years ago, Papis summarized the change that law enforcement and emergency response personnel have made since then.
“The attitude of our officers and officers throughout the country can probably be summarized by saying that we all have to be more vigilant, proactive and communicate with all other agencies,” he said.
