Boy Scouts to Host 9/11 Tribute

Just four days before the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the Boy Scouts have gotten the okay to host a memorial.

The ceremony, to be held Sept. 11 beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Brooks Common (across from Stop & Shop), will be hosted by Boy Scouts of America Troop 170. It will be an extension of the tributes the troop has paid for the last 10 years.

“Every year since it happened, we’ve been holding a flag retirement ceremony to keep the event alive in the minds of our scouts,” said Cyndi Vallario, who oversees funding and community service for the troop. “This summer we wanted to invite the town so everyone can join us in remembering the people who lost their lives in 9/11.”

There will be a fire, a flag retirement ceremony and participants will be given candles to hold during a candlelight vigil. The idea began in 2001 on a camping trip in New Hampshire the troop took the weekend after the attacks, Vallario said.

“There were just people lining the streets holding candles and that was just so memorable that it’s something we want to carry out,” she said.

The flag retirement ceremony itself is very meaningful, Vallario said.

The troop will burn flags that are old, ripped and worn, from all over town. The public is invited to bring flags in need of retirement to the ceremony or e-mail the.adventurous.ones@gmail.com for pick-up.