Community leaders recall where they were on 9/11

This week we visited with those around the community to get their story of where they were when the news started coming out of the attacks that took, place on Sept 11, 2001.

Howe City Administrator Joe Shephard: I was the city administrator in Seymour Seymour has a local radio station - so local that when you get five miles out of town you can't pick it up When they do announcements, they call people by their first name I had it on in my office as background noise and as I was reading something, it

Lady Bulldogs beat Sacred Heart, lose to Bells

occurred to me that they had stopped the format of old country and western stuff and started talking. So I turned it up and that's how I learned of it

Independent Bank Branch Manager Anna Anderson: I was here at the bank and I remember my mom calling me and asking if we had a TV or radio on or anything She said there's been a plane crash in one of the trade centers and I was on the phone with her when the second one hit I remember her saying, 'this isn't an accident This is page 3

Pageviews:

Sessions: 82,039

Users: 39,954

Continued from page 1

Brandon Williams (7) races 16 yards for Howe's first score. Michelle Carney/Howe Enterprise. have a golden opportunity to score the game's first points when they started with great field position at the Bells 42 yard line after a short punt But Howe, trying to get a play called with Jordan Jones at quarterback, jumped offsides on three consecutive plays to back them up into their own territory Three plays later, the Bulldogs punted

To make things worse, the Panthers received the ball to begin the second half and returned the kick to Howe's 42 yard line The result was a 9-play drive that took half of the time off the third quarter clock ending in a 3-yard touchdown by sophomore quarterback Blake Rolen Howe blocked the PAT which resulted in a 13-0 lead for Bells with 6:50 remaining in the third quarter

If it not for the band and the cheerleaders, the atmosphere would have been like that of a tennis match at a 1A school in West Texas But signs of life began for the east side bleachers when Howe's Brandon Williams returned the ensuing kick to the Bells 30 yard line to open the Dogs' next drive

Howe, playing without starting quarterback freshman Austin Haley who took a helmet-tohelmet shot a week ago, went with senior Layton Elvington to run the offense Elvington hit Kolby Windon in the middle of the field for what looked like a touchdown but was ruled down at the one yard line One play later, a handoff from Elvington to Caden Harmon ended up on the turf and Bells turned away Howe and returned all momentum away from the Bulldogs

The Bulldogs defense, which has played well since the first half of the first week, held Bells to a punt which led to Howe's first score of the game

The drive began at the Bells 46 yard line with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter On the eighth play of the drive and the first play of the fourth quarter, Williams took it the final 16 yards for his first touchdown of the year Howe's PAT by Kevin Flores was wide right, and Howe cut the Bells lead to 13-6.

As the Howe offense began to click, the defense continued to stiffen forcing Bells' fifth punt of the game with 9:31 remaining in the game. Howe failed to catch the punt which pinned them deep at their own nine yard line where Howe couldn't get out

Bells was forced to punt again, and Howe took the ball with 5:48 looking to tie the game Elvington wanted to hit Jalen Thornton on a screen pass, but Bells covered it up forcing a pass downfield in doublecoverage which was intercepted with 3:46 remaining in the game page 15

something bad '

I called my husband and he was at the home and I told him to go in the house and get on the TV and then we just talked back and forth all day long

I remember how quiet everything was It's like the whole town went silent There was not anyone coming in here There was not traffic We even made the comment in here about how everything had just stopped There was nothing - no phone ringing, no customers It's like the world had stopped

Howe Middle School Principal Clay Wilson: I was a high school assistant principal at Mabank (Texas) and I remember watching the TV in my office The principal came on the intercom and announced that planes had been hijacked and buildings had been attacked The superintendent jumped on campus and we watched that tower fall It was just an unbelievable day and it changed the foundation of our lives and how we look at liberty

Howe EDC Director Monte Walker: I had just turned 27 and was on my way to the Katy Depot where I worked in radio when my mom called and told me that a plane flew into the trade center My first thought was that a small engine plane accidentally flew into the Dallas Trade Center When I got to the depot everyone was watching the TV in the conference room and I realized what had happened Shortly after, the second plane hit and our lives changed at that moment. The rest of the day was spent in the

Continued from page 1 9/11 page 9 conference room on the second floor of the Katy Depot watching it unfold Everything stopped

Howe ISD Superintendent Kevin Wilson: I was the HHS principal at the time I remember someone coming into the office and telling us about it after the second plane struck the World Trade Center We turned on the TV and monitored it the rest of the day as two more planes were hijacked It was a very somber and unsettling day, as we did not know how many more targets were planned or who was responsible We initiated a Level One lockdown, which entailed locking the exterior doors, which was not the norm in those days There was not a lot of instruction that went on that day, but learning definitely took place

Howe Chamber President

Robert Cannaday: I was in the sixth grade sitting in Mr Spring’s math class when it was announced over the intercom that there had been a terrorist attack in New York I was not familiar with the term “terrorist” at that point in my life, but I knew by the reaction on our teacher’s face that it was something serious. We asked our teacher what was happening, and we were calmly told that there had been attacks on two large buildings but did not get much more information. Looking back, it seems as if our teacher knew the severity of the situation but did not want to cause panic by giving more information As class went on, many of my classmates’ parents began to show up at the school and take their children home An hour or so went by until I was called to the office to find my mother, with