Editorial: Local event to mark 9/11, heroes

On Saturday the community will mark the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on America that killed about 3,000.
The somber morning of remembrances and prayers is the project envisioned by John Delaney, who organized a simple 9/11 memorial in 2018 that was based at Grace Lake Corporate Center and could be seen by those passing by on I-275.
In 2019 there was a ceremony at the Lunch Box restaurant in Belleville.
Last year was the year of the COVID and so no memorial was put on, but John looked forward to the 20th anniversary and dreamed up ways to make it significant.
Delaney is one of the officers of the Van Buren Township Local Development Finance Authority, which mainly pays off the bonds it financed for Visteon Village. Visteon sold the complex to Sovereign Partners and now it is Grace Lake. The tax capture to pay off the bonds now is less than anticipated and so the township is lending the LDFA funds to help.
The LDFA is encouraging more development at Grace Lake to bring in more tax capture and wants the community to become familiar with the area. The group applauds Delaney’s 9/11 project, but has no money to help.
Delaney’s 9/11 memorial is from his heart and he has been putting a lot of effort into making it work. It will honor first responders from 14 departments, have tables for recruitments to first-responder jobs and education, and much more. We are grateful to Delaney for helping our community mourn 9/11.