In The Face Of Terror—

Newtown Reacts With

Pride And Compassion For Victims

Newtown was shocked along with the rest of the civilized world Tuesday morning, when terrorist attacks leveled the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and severely damaged the Pentagon in Washington, DC.

People throughout town gathered around television sets in schools, offices, and homes, trying to come to grips with the devastating attacks when may in the end claim thousands of lives.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal called the terrorist attacks “beyond belief.”

He said Newtown Emergency Management, an agency that responds to local emergencies including disasters, initially went on a state of alert as a precaution, but at the time he also urged residents to continue with their lives “as best they can.”

“I have been in contact with the governor’s office and will follow his lead,” Mr Rosenthal said. “The governor did not ask municipal offices and schools to close. Terrorists want to shut the country down and we should not allow that to happen.”

Later in the week, Mr Rosenthal said he would be temporarily shutting down his reelection campaign, however. “At least through the weekend, and until further notice, I will cease all campaign and other political activities and urge my fellow candidates to do the same out of respect for the victims and their families.”

Republican candidate for first selectman, Owen Carney, could not be reach Thursday morning for his reaction to the first selectman’s call for a suspension of political activity. 

Many local businesses closed Tuesday morning and meetings were cancelled as news of the disasters spread. Many local clubs and civic groups also curtailed their meetings. For example, the Newtown Visiting Nurse Association cancelled its luncheon meeting at Rock Ridge Country Club at the last minute. In a scene repeated in countless venues around town, country club staff members gathered instead in the club lobby around a large screen television and silently watched the national news reports.

Local churches opened their doors to the public for prayer and meditation and scheduled more formal services in the evenings.

In The Schools

Newtown students were shocked and upset at the news of  the terrorist attacks.

Newtown Superintendent of Schools John R. Reed, however, wanted the community to know that school would go on to help preserve a sense of stability for students, teachers and staff.

“Our strategy today was to try to have an air of normalcy,” Dr Reed said Tuesday. “It’s very important how this gets explained. We do have a crisis team prepared.”

The district sent home teachers on every school bus at each school to make sure that students were feeling secure right after leaving school and to help ensure that someone would be home for them. Students were brought back to school if parents were unavailable. Staff stayed late at school for those students who needed to wait for parents to pick them up.

Dr Reed asked that elementary and middle schools shut down all Internet and television access because of the graphic and sensitive nature of the events on Tuesday. At the high school those measures were not taken.

“I think the students at the high school were more aware of what happened,” Dr Reed said. “They have so much more access to news and come in at different times.”

Newtown High School students watched television in the cafeteria for the latest information about the tragedy. Some were tearful, while others used cell phones to make sure loved ones were safe.

“This has to be one of the saddest days in American history. Right now our students and faculty are in shock. The faculty are here to help our students,” Principal William Manfredonia said. “We’re going to support them any way we can through this whole process.”

Dr Reed emphasized that the district would help any student who needed help and would work hard to keep things as normal as possible for students in the coming days and weeks.

“We just try to be reassuring,” Dr Reed said. “And have as normal of days as we can.”

At The VFW Post

On Tuesday afternoon, several veterans at VFW Post 308 on Tinkerfield Road watched television news coverage of the explosions at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

George Lockwood, an Army veteran who served in the Korean War, expressed the prevailing sentiment at the post. “The government is going to have to do something to guard [against] these [terrorists] … getting on these planes.”

“It’s an outrage … All these innocent people …Why [kill] all these innocent people?” he asked.

“It’s going to take months, maybe a year, to get things back on track after this. We’ve got the flag at half staff,” Mr Lockwood said.

Mr Lockwood noted that many police and firemen were killed in the explosion and fire at the World Trade Center. Thousand of people probably died, he said. Mr Lockwood, who is now a deputy fire marshal, is a former town fire marshal.

“It was a well thought out thing … This didn’t happen overnight,” he said of the multiple airplane crashes. The airplanes were filled with jet fuel when they crashed, he said.

Harold Lockwood, who is George Lockwood’s brother, said, “It’s just a tragic incident.” Harold Lockwood is an Army artillery veteran.

Ernie Satmary, a Navy veteran, said he was surprised and shocked by the destruction of the World Trade Center and the many deaths.

 “Somebody is responsible. I just hope that if they ever [arrest] them, we don’t go through a long trial,” he said of the emotional pain that a lengthy criminal trial would cause.

Volunteers Stand Ready

Police Chief Michael Kehoe said two Newtown police officers lent a hand to the rescue/recovery operations underway in Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon.

Sergeant James Mooney and Patrol Officer Steve Ketchum drove to New York City in the police department’s all-purpose vehicle and provided support and escort services to construction vehicles which were traveling to the scene of the fires and explosions at the World Trade Center, Chief Kehoe said.

The public is now keenly aware of the effects of terrorism, Chief Kehoe said. Such a heightened awareness could well change public attitudes about terrorism, he said. The police chief said he hopes the public realizes that what occurred Tuesday at the World Trade Center and Pentagon will result in heightened security measures everywhere.

Bill Brunetti Jr, a volunteer firefighter with Hawleyville and Dodgingtown and member of the Newtown volunteer ambulance corps, said all emergency services in Newtown have joined together to start a fund for the children of firefighters killed in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.

Mr Brunetti said that all the volunteers would be in New York if they were needed. But, he noted, “Right now they have so many [firefighters and ambulance personnel] on the scene that they don’t need us. We were told they will call if they need us.”

The firefighters children’s fund, he said, was one way the Newtown volunteers could show their solidarity with the emergency services personnel in New York. “We wanted to do something.”