Nutley prepares for solemn Sept. 11 memorial ceremony

The ninth anniversary of Sept. 11 will be honored with somber ceremonies in Nutley and Belleville on Saturday morning. The Nutley observance will be held in front of Town Hall on Kennedy Drive at 11:30 a.m.
The Belleville gathering will take place at 11 a.m. at the town’s 9-11 Memorial Park located at the corner of Franklin and Chestnut streets.
Nutley Public Safety Commissioner Al Petracco will oversee the town’s 9-11 ceremony for the third consecutive year.
“It’s a solemn occasion,” he said last week. “It’s about never forgetting the people who put on the uniforms.”
He said that the notion of uniforms extends to individuals serving in the military and those working for their municipalities.
“We need to salute them, and not take for granted what they do for our towns and country every single day.”
Petracco urged Nutley residents to attend the ceremony, especially since this year’s remembrance falls on a Saturday.
“We will respect the people and families who lost loved ones on that day.”
In addition, Nutley is asking residents to display a lighted candle on their front porch or an electric candle in a window between the hours of 8 and 10 p.m. Residents are also encouraged by the town to display an American flag in front of their homes to show support against the war on terrorism.
In neighboring Belleville, Thomas Grolimond, who served as master of ceremonies at last year’s event, said work is proceeding on the 9-11 Memorial Park, which came into being in the last few years.
“There’s a lot of construction going on right now,” he said last week.

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