Tower Trio honored at Hall Co. sheriff's 9-11 observance

OAKWOOD - An overflow crowd filled The Venue at Blackshear Place Baptist Church Thursday afternoon to honor Hall County's first responders and law enforcement on the 13th anniversary of 9-11.<br /> <br /> The observance was hosted by Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch, who estimated the crowd of 200 was double the size that attended last year's event.<br /> <br /> Lt. Governor Casey Cagle attended the hour-long commemoration, telling the audience that first responders were the epitome of those who sacrifice for others.<br /> <br /> To illustrate the point, he brought proclamations to honor three Hall County firefighters injured in a training accident several weeks ago. <br /> <br /> "Obviously, 9-11 does remind us of the sacrifice that was paid for so many," said Cagle. "We see that every day. We just recognized three of our firefighters that just in a training exercise had an accident."<br /> <br /> T.J. Elliott, Will Griffin and Stephen Jackson were critically injured when a ladder truck collapsed July 22. All three were in attendance at the observance, though they have not yet returned to work.<br /> <br /> In his remarks, Sheriff Couch gave the audience brief biographies of two first responders who died during rescue efforts in New York City on September 11, 2001.<br /> <br /> "I wanted to remind people that these were real people - they had lives, they had families, they had children - and those families and children are still there and they still feel that heartache," said Couch. <br /> <br /> The sheriff said Americans can't afford to forget the sacrifices made on 9-11 in 2001.<br /> <br /> "We need to remember that [9-11] each and every day and never forget that," said Couch. "The world right now is such a dangerous place and I fear that we may see some other events like this. I certainly hope not, but we need to stay vigilant and never forget this could happen again."<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />