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Davis Journal

Thousands serve in remembrance of 9/11

Sep 16, 2021 08:59AM ● By Becky Ginos

Volunteers from multiple stakes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Farmington work to clear out dead trees and branches from the trails at Lagoon. Photo by Roger V. Tuttle

NORTH SALT LAKE—Across the nation volunteers came out in throngs last Saturday to support the National Day of Service in remembrance of 9/11. Locally, whole neighborhoods pitched in cleaning trails, painting fire hydrants and getting rid of graffiti.

“It was a great day in spite of the rain,” said Corinne Doughtery, Regional Committee Chair NSL. “We probably had about 2,500 people come out in our area. One place we worked was at the Baptist Church. There were Muslims, evangelicals and LDS members. It was a diverse group of interfaith volunteers that helped reduce the grass at the church. Rev. Donald Proctor gave a prayer before we started.”

Another group worked at three LDS chapels to ‘rip the strip,’ pulling up grass in the parking strip and replacing it with rocks, she said. “It was a lot of fun. It was a muddy affair but it looked better.”

Some neighbors came out with heavy equipment to lend a hand, said Doughtery. “These were people who hadn’t signed up to help. They came along and moved big rocks. It made a big difference.”

Doughtery said a group cleaning up at Legacy Parkway saw a motorcycle brigade driving by in honor of 9/11. “They rode through and the volunteers waved and they waved back. It was kind of a memorable thing for those 130 volunteers to experience that little bit of community spirit.”

Woods Cross City held a short memorial at Hogan Park, she said. “There was a moment of silence in honor of the fallen heroes and a woman with a lovely voice sang the National Anthem. The city had put up flags all around the park. It was nice to have a day of remembrance.”

The service was organized by zones, said Doughtery. “It followed LDS boundaries but we wanted to think outside of that, we wanted to think about everybody. We posted 30 projects on JustServe.org and specifically went around and invited our neighbors and friends. It was kind of a grassroots effort to get the word out.”

Individuals were assigned to work with city officials in Woods Cross, North Salt Lake and West Bountiful, she said. “All three were fabulous to work with. North Salt Lake had a pizza party the Wednesday before to bring all the supervisors together to meet each other and to answer questions. It was a great way to know what we were doing.”

There were lots of families and neighbors who came out, said Doughtery. “It was successful. I anticipate we’ll be doing it next year too. I think it will become an annual event in our area and across the state. It’s amazing to see such love and care come from a tragic national event.”