Osolo Township Fire Department prepping for 9/11 memorial

June 29, 2011|By Ed Ernstes (ernstes@wsbt.com)

ELKHART COUNTY -- A piece of history will arrive in Elkhart County just in time for the holiday weekend. A memorial to those who died in the September 11 terror attacks will arrive on a motorcade of thousands of cars and motorcycles.

Several lots near the Osolo Township Fire Department are being mowed. The space will be used to park thousands of cars and trucks for those expected for the delivery of a 9/11 steel beam from New York.

It is slated to arrive early this Saturday afternoon at the Osolo station escorted by a large group of motorcycles.

“We are a small community, we are not geared for anything of this magnitude, this is the first time in history of this department or this community we have done anything this large,” said Chief Jerry Miller with the Osolo Township Fire Department. “It’s been a little overwhelming at times.”

The beam will come from Angola, Indiana on State Road 120, then north on County Road 17, west on County Road 6 to County Road 11, eventually ending at the Osolo fire house. The caravan could temporarily cause congestion on those roads.

To help coordinate all of the activities and logistics associated with a motorcade of this size, the department contacted the Elkhart County Department of Emergency Management to bring the beam here.

“We have been asked to bring the mobile command center out,” said Jennifer Tobey with Elkhart County Emergency Management. “It’s the collaboration of a lot of different agencies, just to help remember what happened on 9-11 and just bring this important piece of artifact into Elkhart County.

“We have a great cooperation from every agency around us,” said Miller.

“We’ll have plenty of cones and traffic control devices and people out there to make sure people are safe that are a part of the event and also traffic does not travel through there,” said Captain Jim Bradberry with Elkhart County Police.

Osolo Firefighters are in the process of handing out flyers to 200 area homeowners that will explain what will be going on Saturday.

The 9/11 memorial will be unveiled at the Osolo station on September 11.

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