Posted in News

Wayland native offers his reflections on 9/11

Wayland Town Crier 9/15/11: Wayland native offers his reflections on 9/11. You want to look up because that’s where the damage is. But the assistance guide warns you to watch where you’re stepping. While the paving stones leading to the train track that carried commuters between New Jersey and the World Trade Center are intact, there are curbs around the leafless trees and uneven places where you could twist an ankle or fall.

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Wayland remembers Sept. 11 victim Jane Simpkin

Wayland Town Crier 9/14/11: Wayland remembers Sept. 11 victim Jane Simpkin. Upon the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, members of Wayland High School’s Class of 1983 are fondly remembering their classmate Jane Simpkin, who was aboard American Airlines Flight 175 when it was steered into the south tower of the World Trade Center. “The whole world changed at that instant. And now we simply think, ‘Anything could happen,’” said Simpkin’s friend Tracy Scheidemantel. Another classmate, Michele Sax commented, “It’s hard to quantify. It was such an esoteric experience.” Simpkin, then 36 and an aspiring law student, had come to the U.S. from her native England when she was a freshmen in high school. She had already led a fairly adventurous life, as her father’s work took her to far corners of the world, including South America and Iran. At Wayland High, she was well-known for her distinctive British accent and for her eclectic personality, sense of humor and hip musical tastes.

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Ten years later: Remembering Jane Louise Simpkin

Wayland Student Press Network 9/12/11: Ten years later: Remembering Jane Louise Simpkin. To some it’s a mystery, to others a sad reminder, but to the mother and sister of Jane Louise Simpkin, the bench in the quad outside the Arts Building at Wayland High School is a time capsule to a life cut too short by the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. Jane Louise Simpkin, at age 36, died on United Airlines flight 175 from Boston to Los Angeles, on September 11, 2001. At 9:03 A.M. the plane struck the south tower of the World Trade Center, after the plane was hijacked by five terrorists.

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Many faiths, one purpose

Boston Globe 9/12/11: Many faiths, one purpose. In the days following the Sept. 11, 2011, terrorist attacks, members of the Islamic Center of Boston were nervous. The 19 hijackers had not only carried out the deadliest attack on American soil, but they had also planted a seed of distrust against American Muslims, members recalled yesterday. A backlash seemed to be growing, bringing with it second glances from strangers and bullying of Muslim children in school. But when the faithful came to their mosque for prayers on the Friday following the attacks, a group of neighbors were waiting for them at the door – not with accusations and insults, but with flowers.

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View from Wayland’s Islamic Center: How 9/11 Continues to Affect American Muslims

Wayland Patch 9/9/11: View from Wayland's Islamic Center: How 9/11 Continues to Affect American Muslims. Eleven years ago, Muslims lived in America. They worked here, raised kids here, married here, died here, worshiped here, paid taxes here and otherwise went about living their lives much as any other Americans. But 10 years ago, 19 Muslim men hijacked planes and flew them into the two towers of New York’s World Trade Center; the Pentagon in Washington D.C.; and, in what appears to have been a failed plot, a field in Shanksville, Penn., killing nearly 3,000 people and abruptly bringing foreign terrorism onto American soil. On Sept. 11, 2001, the lives of millions of Muslims living in America changed profoundly because of the actions of 19 of those individuals.

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Posted in Fire News Police

Wayland’s Emergency Response Forever Altered By Sept. 11 Attacks

Wayland Patch 9/8/11: Wayland's Emergency Response Forever Altered By Sept. 11 Attacks. Sept. 11, 2001, changed the way so many of us travel, think about privacy, and teach history to our children. But for emergency responders across the country, it shook the very foundations of how they do their daily work. With 9/11 came an awareness among emergency responders that attacks could happen on American soil, and along with that awareness came a rethinking of preparedness and response. “The mission changed,” said Wayland Fire Chief Robert Loomer, who was serving as a fire captain in Maynard, Mass., at the time of the attacks. “People now think of us as first responders. When it’s terrorism, when it’s on your own soil, who’s going to show up first? Cops and firefighters.”

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MetroWest Muslims seek understanding after 9/11

Wayland Town Crier 9/5/11: MetroWest Muslims seek understanding after 9/11. Shaheen Akhtar was happily preparing to celebrate her daughter's 20th birthday on Sept. 11, 2001, when al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four jetliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. "The 9/11 attacks changed Muslims' lives tremendously," said Akhtar. "From that time, my daughter's birthday has not been the same. There's no reason to celebrate." Like many of her faith, the Framingham Muslim regards the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks as a time of somber remembrance and prayers for peace after a decade of divisive misunderstanding. She will spend part of her daughter's birthday at the Islamic Center of Boston in Wayland, where she has helped organize interfaith services and activities to build bridges among religions still locked in conflict around the world.

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