DailyMississippian Scott, Rebels hang on for first victory of the season
The
thedmonline.com
Monday, Sept. 12, 2011
P. 12
Vol. 100 No. 180
Oxford honors 9-11 victims Faces in the crowd: UPD’s unsung heroes BY JACOB BATTE thedmnews@gmail.com
PETRE THOMAS | The Daily Mississippian
Elizabeth Smith sings the national anthem, while the Air Force ROTC students present the arms at a 9-11 remembrance ceremony taking place at the Oxford Activity Center last night. The night’s event remembered the lives lost on 9-11 and celebrated the accomplishments of those who volunteered around oxford over the course of the day.
BY WILL BEDWELL williambbedwell@gmail.com
The city of Oxford transformed a day of terror into one of community service and remembering yesterday. Greg May was one of eight firefighters from the Oxford Fire Department who volunteered. He believes the best way to remember those who gave their lives for their country is through service. “That’s the way they would want it, to be remembered that way,” May said. The first annual 9-11 Day of Service and Remembrance at the Oxford Activity Center was put together by Volunteer Oxford. The event, which began at 12:30 p.m., consisted of volunteers being sent across the community during a memorial service honoring the local police, firefighters and soldiers. Later in the day, there was a dinner for the volunteers and officers. Ryan Upshaw, the admissions coordinator for the University
inside
of Mississippi’s Honors College, volunteered at the event. Upshaw saw the day as a perfect opportunity for students to help out in the community and for him to do the same. “I wanted to come out and help with the 9-11 Day of Service and Remembrance, and I just felt like this was a good way to give back to the Oxford community,” Upshaw said. The 175 registered volunteers arrived and were quickly put to work around the community. Four groups were organized in different areas of volunteer work. Three of the groups boxed up donated food and took it to More Than a Meal, Oxford Pantry and Love Packs. These three organizations were created to provide those in need with food. Love Packs distributes food to children, the Oxford Pantry gives families in need one week supplies of food and More Than a Meal gives tutoring, health screenings and fellowship to families. The fourth group worked with the Oxford Community Garden Association to help beautify
Ten years later, our skylines have never been taller P. 2
Avent Park. More than the expected volunteers arrived, which created two additional groups. One was sent to walk dogs at the Humane Society, while the other placed new mulch in Avent Park. Kelly Shannon, director of Volunteer Oxford, was overly impressed with the volunteer turnout. “The sense of volunteerism in the community and the possibility of the university and the city and the county being able to work together has definitely made it come to fruition,” Shannon said. Her plan to create a volunteer program on 9-11 had been brewing for months and was made possible after joining forces with the university’s Associated Student Body. Of the volunteers, threefourths were either university students or faculty. The rest of the volunteers were local police, firefighters, boy scout troops and community residents. Rusty Woods, scout master of See MEMORIAL, PAGE 6
Everyday officers with the University Police Department patrol the nation’s most beautiful campus in order to protect the student body from harm. Mixed amongst the under-recognized group of university employees are a group of national heroes — that very few students know. Police Captain William Sheffield, Lt. Adam Peacock, Sgt. Deborah Mills and officers Jason Brown, Benjamin Stepp, Gage Vance and Michael Hughes all served their country in the middle east after the attacks on September 11, 2001. Sheffield, who spent 18 months in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2006, said that he can still remember getting the call informing him that he was going overseas. “Oh man, I’ll never forget it. I got a call at 12 midnight in December,” the 15-year UPD veteran remembered, leaning back in his chair. “We were a unit, and had been in that unit for 20 years and the closest I came to being deployed was Desert Storm, Desert Sheild, but we missed that one. “When they come knocking at your door, when you get that phone call you say I don’t believe this.” Sheffield, who retired after 23 years as an Army Reserve officer, said even though there was the initial shock of knowing you were going to be leaving your everyday life to serve overseas, that neither he, nor anyone in his unit hesitated when the time came to fight for their country. “We knew the day when we signed that line they might call your number, and you would have to go,” the Water Valley native said. “We want to serve our country, do our job. I think all of the (soldiers) were proud of what they did.” Sgt. Mills knew she was going to be deployed three years in advance of the actual call. “As soon as I saw the planes hit the tower I knew we were going to be deployed,” Mills said. Mills would actually arrive in the Middle East in the spring of 2004.
Firefighters climb 110 stories to honor their fallen brothers P. 5
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It wasn’t guaranteed that when we left the gates of our compound that we were going to come back. We had one experience where we took supplies to a school and the next day the school got hit. Taliban came in and took all the supplies and water. We went back for a week and worked around the school and got it back up and going and re-supplied the school.
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Captain William Sheffield ,
UPD Captain
While he knew there was a chance that he would get called up, Officer Hughes wasn’t excited when he got the call. “It really sucked (getting the call),” the Oxford native said. “I was in my second year here (Ole Miss), I was making great grades. I was like ‘God, now I have to start over.’ It was an experience just knowing that I had to go, seeing how everbody reacted.” Sheffield, Hughes and Mills all said there is an initial culture shock when you first arrive in the Middle East. “It was a huge, huge experience that you are not going to get anywhere else,” Hughes said. “In the morning and night you could hear the prayers coming all over the city, and that is not something I’m used to hearing. “It’s hotter here in Mississippi,” Hughes laughed. “Sand storms took some getting used to.” Mills, who joined the National Guard in 1978 and spent six years living overseas, did not experience as much of a culture shock as the other first-time active duty soldiers. “I have seen it before being over in Nicauragua, Korea. It is very, very primitive,” Mills said. Mills said that one of the toughest things to get used to was the limited resources available, mentioning that she did not take a shower until six months after being deployed. See UPD, PAGE 5
Volleyball takes Magnolia Invitational for fifth straight year P. 11