Sheriff's Office honors 9/11 first responders

On the 19th anniversary of 9/11, the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Department Regional Training Academy decided to have its traditional daily workout as a 9/11 Remembrance. The 9/11 Remembrance ceremony was held Friday morning near the Veterans Memorial at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium.
According to academy director Capt. Sennett Wiggins, those participating would work out in two groups with each group doing 207 reps to total the 414 first responders who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks on New York City.
“As people were jumping from the buildings … firemen and first responders were going in,” said St. Mary Parish Sheriff Blaise Smith during his opening remarks.
The workout began and ended with the participants jogging with two American flags around the auditorium parking lot, in between the jogs each member of the group did five exercises in turn and counting up to the needed reps. Exercises ranged from the dreaded burpee to squats, jump squats and pushups.
The workout began at 7:46 a.m. (8:46 ET), the time the first hijacked plane hit 1 World Trade Center (North Tower) in New York City in 2001 and ended at 8:03 a.m. (9:03 ET), the time the 2 World Trade Center (South Tower) was hit.
The 9/11 Remembrance workout had 15 participants which included cadets along with two Berwick Police Department police officers and the academy personnel.
Also remembered during the event were the five Louisianians that lost their lives during 9/11. They were Kevin Yokum, 27, of Lake Charles; Michael Lamana, 31, of Baton Rouge; Louis Williams III, 53, of Mandeville; Elizabeth “Betty” Farmer, 62, and Air Force Lt. Col. (retired) Robert Hymel, 55, both of New Orleans.