of Sept. 11 in Spotswood
By vincent todaro
Staff Writer
SPOTSWOOD — Though no borough residents died in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, local officials want to make sure relatives of residents and all those whose lives were sacrificed that day are not forgotten.
On Wednesday, the one-year anniversary of Sept. 11, at 7:30 p.m., the parking lot of the municipal complex will be transformed into a vigil site.
Laura Bacskoczky, a co-organizer of the ceremony, said the event will be much more than a vigil, however.
"This is a dedication to the people who died, not just a dedication to the servicemen or vets," she said. "We want to make a dedication to everyone who passed that day."
She said the pain expressed by local families convinced her that a ceremony just in honor of their lost loved ones was in order.
"I know a few [residents] who were affected by it because they lost relatives," she said.
Co-organizer Carol Barton knows all too well the pain associated with Sept. 11, having been a member of the stress management team at Ground Zero. She said she responded to the scene on Sept. 12 and worked there every weekend through January, consoling people who lost loved ones and even those who had what has been referred to as survivor’s guilt.
"It was a rewarding job, it really was," she said. "People thanked us for letting them vent."
Spotswood’s Sept. 11 anniversary vigil will begin with a presentation of colors by the Police, Fire and First-Aid Color Guard, and will be followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, led by the Mojasphe Service Unit of the Delaware Raritan Girl Scout Council. The national anthem will be sung by Hap Ortutay, who will also perform "Wind Beneath My Wings" and "Let There Be Peace on Earth" during the ceremony.
An invocation will be given by Charles N. Lochner of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Main Street, who will later give a benediction.
Barton, a past president of the Ladies Auxiliary at Spotswood VFW Post 4589, will then give the opening remarks.
The evening’s main speakers will be Mayor Barry Zagnit, Police Chief Karl Martin, Fire Chief J.C. Worley, and First-Aid Squad Capt. Leo Servis.
Girl Scouts from Monroe, Jamesburg and Helmetta, as well as Spotswood, will participate in the ceremony, as will Brownie Troop No. 1976, of Spotswood.
"There will be a couple hundred kids representing all aspects of that service unit," Bacskoczky said.
Bacskoczky said the vigil is meant to be part of a healing effort.
In a former job at a pediatrician’s office, she said she met many of the families who lost close family members, and that she remembers "the devastation in these families’ faces."
"To see them going through what they were going through really hurt," she said.
Parking for the vigil will be at Spotswood High School. In case of rain, the event will be held in the high school cafetorium.

