News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Delaney and Lucas Swanton put their donations in a fireman's boot held by Denise Wheeler.
Sisters residents and the many visitors to the community dug into their pockets last weekend to help Sisters firefighters help the families of firefighters killed in terrorist attacks in New York.
Sisters firefighters manned donation stations at Sisters Pumphouse, Ray's Food Place and Leavitt's Western Wear, where they collected some $11,000 in donations.
The funds will go directly to the aid of families of firefighters killed when the World Trade Center towers collapsed in the wake of attacks by hijacked jets on Tuesday, September 11.
"That's pretty good for one day's work," said Susan Houk of Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District.
The total is likely to grow well beyond $11,000. Sisters Elementary School students raised $477, according to teacher Kirk Albertson.
Additional donations may come in this week.
There's still time to stop by the Sisters Firehall to make a donation, Houk said, but time is running out.
"We're only going to send one check and it will probably be later this week," she said.
Several agencies have expedited payments of workers' compensation and death benefits to families.
The deaths of hundreds of firefighters who responded to the WTC towers to save the lives of others has deeply touched all Americans, particularly other firefighters.
That kind of sacrifice is part of the ethic of the job.
"I could just see these guys (in the Sisters department)," Houk said.
"They wouldn't have walked out..."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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