EAST COUNTY COLLEGES REMEMBER 9/11 ATTACKS
September 11, 2013 (El Cajon) – With a vow to never forget the sacrifices made and the lives lost in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Cuyamaca College today held a ceremony and display of 2,977 small flags on the campus’ Grand Lawn, each representing a victim of the fateful day when two planes hit the Twin Towers in New York City and two other commandeered planes crashed into the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. On a postcard-perfect summer morning with the San Miguel Fire Station’s massive 70-foot flag as a backdrop, the campus community and the public gathered to commemorate an event that even after a dozen years had spectators wiping away tears and speakers’ voices choking with emotion. A few miles away, a similar ceremony took place at Grossmont College, where the morning began with the recitation of victims’ names interspersed with moments of silence corresponding with each horrifying incident that would forever leave an indelible mark on that historic day. At both campuses, Wednesday was a day of personal remembrances, with speakers like La Mesa Police Chief Ed Aceves equating Sept. 11 to the death of John F. Kennedy and the bombing of Pearl Harbor for its historical significance, and sharing the heart-wrenching description a close friend and New York police officer gave of witnessing bodies falling to the pavement as victims jumped to their death from the burning towers. Cal-Fire Battalion chief Jeff Lannon said it was with the idealistic hope to rescue survivors that he and fellow firefighters had traveled to New York, only to discover the extent of death and destruction resulting from the attack. At first feeling out of place, Lannon said it was when they began attending the funerals of New York firefighters that they realized the value of their presence to the families of their dead brethren. Following the ceremony, yellow ribbons were distributed to the audience to tie around the flags that had been placed into the law the day before by Cuyamaca College students and interns from state Sen. Joel Anderson’s office. At Grossmont College, Dr. Irving “Jake” Jacoby, an emergency room doctor who led a medical team from San Diego to Ground Zero, urged students to “remember and honor those who were attacked and killed on that Day of Enormity.” Sheriff’s Sgt. Joel Wigand, who traveled to New York to participate in law enforcement’s memorial honor guard a month after the attacks, described how smoke still filled the air from smoldering debris. “The amount of destruction was beyond description,” Wigand said. “None of the pictures seen in the newspaper or on television can adequately describe the scene. This is a sacred place, a place of honor for all of those who died at the hands of terrorists.” Closing the remembrance ceremony was the presentation of the Spirit of 9/11 Award to Grossmont College chemistry Professor Jeffrey Lehman in recognition of his emergency response work with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Cave & Technical Rescue Team and the San Diego- based Disaster Medical Assistance Team CA-4, recently deployed in support of federal relief efforts after Hurricane Sandy. “For me, the legacy of 9-11 is not one of death and destruction, but a shining example of America’s continued devotion to the common good,” Lehman said.
ART GONE WILD IN JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS
By Miriam Raftery September 11, 2013 (Jacumba Hot Springs) – “The people of this town came together,” said famed sculptor Ricardo Breceda after hoisting a 1200-pound metallic rattlesnake sculpture into place in front of the Jacumba Community Park. Best known for his larger-than-life sculptures of present and prehistoric wildlife in the Anza-Borrego desert, Breceda yesterday sold additional sculptures to Jacumba Hot Springs art fans – works that will soon grace rocks and roadways in this high desert community seeking to reinvent itself as an arts colony. It all started with a winged dragon. A newspaper publisher from a nearby town recently acquired Jacumba’s intriguing “Chinese castle” on a hill overlooking the town and purchased a Breceda dragon sculpture to stand guard outside this one-of-a-kind residence. Then an anonymous benefactor commissioned Breceda to create the giant rattlesnake sculpture for the town, after seeing a smaller replica at the artist’s studio in Temecula. “Wow!” Howard Cook with Jacumba’s revitalization committee said of his reaction upon learning of the gift. Breceda said it took four weeks to craft the unusual piece, starting with the framing. “Then I started cutting scales – a lot of them,” he said. “Every one is the same size – three and a half inches square. That’s a lot of overlaps, so it takes a lot of time.” Breceda’s sculptures, crafted from 26-guage sheet metal, sell for thousands of dollars each for his large works. In Temecula, one of his most inspiring creations is a trio of horses that appear to leap across a chasm between real cliffs. You can read more about his unusual creations and career in our 2011 review of Ricardo Breceda: Accidental Artist at http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/7960. Yesterday, some 200 people turned out to celebrate the snake sculpture’s installation, including school children and visitors from around the world. In the evening, art aficionados held a reception in Breceda’s honor at the newly reopened Jacumba Hot Springs resort, sipping wine and noshing on bacon-wrapped shrimp and stuffed mushroom appetizers. In this desert town of rugged individualists, none seemed bothered by the thought of a venomous reptile gracing the heart of town. Instead, citizens took pride in the powerfully coiled snake, rattles and fangs symbolically poised to strike a blow for artistic expression. Several townspeople purchased Breceda sculptures of their own, from small “tortugas” (tortoises) to dramatic large pieces that will soon be erected for enjoyment by all who pass through this arts-loving community, which is gearing up for next year’s centennial celebration. Bill Pape, a retiree who makes his living these days off rental properties, purchased a pair of battling bighorn rams. The rams will soon occupy a rocky perch in front of his own unique residence, drilled into boulders to secure them firmly in place. “The Beacon” is a rock house built in the 1930s and expanded in 1965. The home itself rises out of native boulders like a lighthouse on some craggy coastal overlook, its walls studded with vintage auto tire rims that double as port holes offering panoramic vistas of distant mountains. Mark Ostrander, a retired Cal Fire battalion chief, and his wife, Lorrie, purchased a stag sculpture that will soon adorn their front yard along the highway leading into the west side of town. Their inspiration was a real male deer that leaped out in front of their car one dark night. “He died in my arms,” said Lorrie Ostrander, who wants to keep the majestic animal’s spirit alive through art. Howard and Danielle Cook acquired a Breceda cactus sculpture for their Southwestern hacienda-style Jacumba home. Another Jacumba Hot Springs resident bought a sculptural motorcycle. Not every sculpture sold. Depictions of wild stallions, Mexican siestas, and wolves with individual pieces of curled metal “fur” are still available for art lovers out there. Breceda said he was deeply moved by the community’s love of his artwork. The famed artist offered this perspective: “One of my very good surprises was to see the entire town come out.”