Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 4

I A4 LOCAL TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2002 DECATUR, ILLINOIS Remembrance fyjy Renewal A Look Back As much as they hate to admit it, some Americans are If 1 RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Dare she say it? Donna Nobles is fed up with being made to relive Sept. 11. The elementary achool teacher's aide shared the fear Americans felt that day. She understands the need of families to memorialize loved ones who died.

But she thinks the continuing hand-wringing is radiating an air of weakness to our enemies. And she says it's time to stop. "Enough is enough," Nobles, 47, says as she prowls the stands at Raleigh's Farmers Market. "We need to realize that life is for the living." Nobles is far from alone in voicing frustration even vehement resentment in some corners at what many feel is an unhealthy fixation on things 911. Perhaps some are jaded at seeing entrepreneurs make money on T-shirts, hats, anything with the FDNY logo.

Maybe they're sick of digging deep to make donations, only to hear victim families say the money didn't reach them or that they didn't get enough. Or it could be post-traumatic stress, the crush of pain and sorrow simply too much to bear. Callous though some sentiments might sound, mental health experts say "911 fatigue" is as natural a response as the waves of patriotism :1 -Tv8 1 1 yiST-- 41 4 if and grief that swept the nation after terrorists struck the World Trade Center and Pentagon. "Americans have a hard time living with uncertainty," says psychologist Debra Condren, who has offices in New York and San Francisco. "We want closure.

We want quick fixes. In this case, there is no resolution." Closure is precisely what Brian Pilant craves. "Shut up about it!" the 28-year-old bagpiper from Tempe, grumbles when asked about the attacks, plugging his ears with his fingers for emphasis. When the attacks occurred, Pilant was as niilllllll" 1 Illinois funds in place for ruture attacks By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN Springfield Bureau Writer SPRINGFIELD Matt Bet-tenhausen, Illinois' director of homeland security, recalls that before Sept. 11, 2001, people looked askance at state government's work to prepare for possible terrorist strikes.

"Frankly, a lot of people just didn't take it seriously," Bet-tenhausen said. "And there were concerns that it was just Chicken Little-type planning." As the one-year anniversary of the attacks approaches, preparations for terrorism have gained new respect, and so has the money that allows planners to put their ideas into practice. Bettenhausen cited $47 million from state and federal sources in the wake of Sept. 11 that is being used for anti-terrorism preparation. But he said Illinois' total spending on homeland security is unknown.

The new credibility means new money for: Teams with Illinois State Police officers at their core that can respond with arrest, medical and rescue capabilities. There are now three such teams there were two before Sept. 11 designed to reach every part of the state within two hours of an emergency. Planners want to expand the concept so such teams could be anywhere in Illinois within an hour, Bettenhausen said. Training for first respon-ders firefighters, police and paramedics in case of disasters brought on by terrorist attacks.

Richard L. Jaehne, director of the Illinois Fire Service Institute, said 90,000 volumes of "Emergency Response to Terrorism-Basic Concepts" have been printed and distributed. He said protocols are designed for every emergency vehicle in the state. Whether the protocols are inside the vehicles is unclear. The Illinois State Police have the books but have not passed them out to troopers, State Police spokesman Capt.

Dave Sanders said. Sanders said the protocols are expected to go into the squad cars this fall. "They were approved some time ago by our command for distribution." A computerized system to rapidly track the spread of infectious diseases is slowly taking shape. Dr. John R.

Lumpkin, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said testing of the computerized system would begin this month. Previous estimates were that it could be fully operational in about three years. A state pharmaceutical cache. The $2 million cache for 200,000 people is meant to provide antibiotics to emergency personnel who could be at the greatest risk in a bioter-rorist attack. The state's supply is supposed to be a stopgap measure until the federal pharmaceutical supply can arrive, Lumpkin said.

Laboratory improvements. Lumpkin said 84 new laboratory workers should be hired within two months, and laboratories already have been upgraded. He said state labs would not have been able to process West Nile virus cases before the improvements. A $340,000 improvement is in the works at the laboratory for the Illinois Department of Agriculture in Galesburg. It will be able to perform diagnostic tests and destroy animal carcasses without burning them and releasing fumes into the environment, said Michael Williams, the agency's chief policy adviser.

Martin Tinberg, administrator of the Rock Island County Department of Public Health, gave good marks to the state for ramping up its anti-terrorism preparations. But he warned against complacency, should time pass without a terrorist event. "What I'm scared of is two years from now (people say), i 'OK, we don't have any of these problems, so we'll go on to something Tinberg said. "The effort it takes to maintain skills, the effort it takes to make plans, they get lost." Richard Goldstein can he reached at richard.goldsteinlee.net or 782-4043. ON DISPLAY: A banner is hoisted up a building overlooking the World Trade Center disaster site.

Associated Press photos REMEMBERING: A city bus, decorated with an American flag, is reflected in the window of a cafe disrjlavina tributes to World Trade Center victims in the Gramercv Park area of Manhattan Mpw Ynrk shaken as any other American and was glued to the television. "I thought it was the end of the world at first," he says. Now, he says, all the sorrow is getting counterproductive. "I'm not sick of hearing about things that we didn't know that we know now," he says. 'I'm sick of the whining and that 'What about the sort of mentality.

"We need to drop it. Talking about things that we can do and take care of, OK. But stuff we can't do anything about like the fact that it happened we can't change that." Others, though, say the continued reminders are necessary to avoid becoming complacent. "Living in Columbus, Ohio, you feel safeguarded in a way and that's not good, because we're not," says Bridget Molloy, 39, who still takes time to read victim profiles when The New York Times publishes them. "As Americans, we have very short memo- heroes or say out loud that they're weary of widows' tearful interviews.

New Yorker Mark Prindle is one who says it pains him to say so but he's tired of hearing about Sept. 11. He worked on the trade center's 104th floor six years ago and went down to gaze at the smoking rubble after the attacks. Now, he feels the barrage of news stories and remembrances is making it impossible for the victims' families to overcome their grief. And in the end, Prindle says, all the attention cheapens the very event it is intended to memorialize "Some people here were worried that they might make a national holiday of it," the 29-year-old public relations specialist says.

"It'll just be like Memorial Day, where it's like, 'All right. A long weekend. 9-1-1. Let's go to the ries," Molloy says. "My concern is that people will slip back into a comfort zone.

That's when we'll get caught again." But some feel that we, as Americans, have a nasty habit of overdoing some things and, perhaps, not doing enough about others. In Evansville, bank security guard Leslie Barnett notes what he sees as the unfairness of the attention and money given to the 911 victims and their families. "What about people killed in (bombings in) Oklahoma or Africa?" says Barnett, 65. "Or what about the servicemen killed whose families just received military life insurance? Somewhere, you've got to draw the line." Others are afraid to vent their frustrations. They worry how it will sound if they remind people that not all firefighters and cops are RID Decatur fire station honors attack date with bell ringings By ARLENE MANNLEIN Staff Writer er and a cousin.

While he hopes he never has to take a similar ride again, Harding said he is looking forward to seeing ground zero. "Everyone I've talked to says you just can't imagine ground zero until you see it. I think that will bring up a whole other range of emotions." Harding said he has been moved by the way people responded to the tragedy by banding together and becoming more tolerant of each other. But he said he thinks Americans lived "in a bubble" for too long, believing nothing like the attacks could happen here. "It sure brought this country around," Harding said.

"It's a shame that it took that to do it. I hope we don't forget." Stephanie Potter can be reached at or 421-7984. Continued from A1 "My first thought was there's going to be a lot of firefighters losing then-lives," McGorray said. "It was gut instinct." McGorray said the attacks have changed the way firefighters look at their jobs. "It kind of makes you sit up and think something could happen here," he said.

"We've been very fortunate." Four Decatur firefighters have died in the line of duty and four others have died at the station of heart ailments, Fire Chief Les Albert said. The last Decatur firefighter killed in the line of duty was Fred Bachman on Nov. 30, 1954. Harding comes from a firefighting family that includes his father, broth memorating the crash of American Airlines Flight 11 into the World Trade Center north tower, United Airlines Flight 175 into the south tower, American's Flight 77 into the Pentagon and United's Flight 93 into a field southeast of Pittsburgh, Pa. "Each time a bell rings on this day," said the Rev.

Kenneth Kramer of the United Church of Atwood, "a chord will strike in our hearts as we remember the sadness of the attacks and thank God for allowing us to remain a strong nation through all of this." "We must also," said Post 770 Commander Robert Smith, "remember those who continue to give of themselves daily while fighting for our freedom." In Tuscola, as in Decatur and other communities, the names of each of the 343 firefighters who died in New York City will be read aloud as another remembrance. In Charleston, student groups at Eastern Illinois University will also read aloud the names of all victims of Sept. 11. Wherever people are on Sept. 11, they are invited to wear patriotic red, white and blue and observe a moment of silence at both 9:05 and 9:28 a.m.

Coming up As the nation approaches the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Central Illinois residents are preparing to remember. In Decatur, people are invited to join in special ceremonies that will follow the guidelines suggested by the International Associa- List of Events Fn-e0f For a list of Cen- Sdiiig tral Illinois events on toDeCatuV Sept 11, turn Fire Chief to A5 LeS Albert. Decatur's Sept. 11 event at Fire Station No.

1 will specifically honor the times of the collapse of each World Trade Center tower with the ringing of the station bell at 9:05 a.m. and again at 9:28 a.m. "These are the bells which stations used to have to ring out fire alarms," explained Albert. "That was how volunteers got their notice there was a fire." Bells will ring out across the area. In Atwood, houses of worship will join James Reeder American Legion Post 770 by ringing bells at four specific times, com MONDAY: An in-depth look at what's happened on Wall Street since Sept 11.

Plus, meet a Decatur couple who found themselves in Russia on 11 2001 and how that day changed their lives. TODAY: A new flag to fly in your window and a listing of how Central Illinois will mark Sept. 11. WEDNESDAY: A special section honoring Central Illinois police officers, firefighters and emergency workers. Plus, area residents tell how 911 changed their lives, and staff writer Tony Reid visits with the family of Navy Capt Jack Punches, who was killed in the attack on the Pentagon.

THURSDAY: Complete local and national coverage of the Sept 11 anniversary. FRSDAY: Central Illinois residents share their photo memories of the World Trade Center. SATUTOAY: How Sept 11 affected our view of pop culture..