The anniversary of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 will be observed on Patriot Day this Friday at the 9/11 Spirit of America Memorial in Cashmere, WA.

If you have not attended any of the previous ceremonies, consider the important milestone of this 25th anniversary of the attacks that killed 2,977 people. The FBI reports more than 9,000 people have since died from medical illnesses and complications related to the 9/11 attacks.

The foundation that maintains the monument in Cashmere also hosts the annual remembrance ceremony as to what happened on September 11th, 2001, in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania

9/11 Spirit of America Foundation board president Paul Harrison was just a teenager 25 years ago, just old enough to remember the events of that day. Harrison says a whole new younger generation was not yet born, and that is part of the foundation’s mission to remember, honor, and educate.

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VIDEO: Three months after a fall left him impaled on a metal T-post, 67-year-old Mark Horak reunited Thursday with some of the firefighters he credits with saving his life. Horak said he was trimming tree branches at his Greenacres home on June 15 when he lost his balance while standing on top of a rock wall.

He fell about 15 feet and landed on a metal T-post, which went through his back and abdomen. “I didn’t know really what had happened until I got to the ground and then I saw that the post was coming out,” Horak said. Horak said his first thought was to call for his wife and get help.

“I was just hoping and praying that I would make it,” he said. Firefighters and emergency medical crews arrived within minutes. Spokane Valley Fire Capt. Mike Patterson said crews found Horak suspended roughly 12 inches off the ground, with his body weight putting pressure on the post.

Patterson said crews first stabilized Horak and supported his weight before determining how to safely cut the post. “We got a backboard down, cut the fence post and moved the patient,” Patterson said. Crews cut the post from the ground but left the portion inside Horak in place for transport to the hospital. Patterson said Horak remained conscious and was talking with crews on the way to the hospital.

KREM-TV CBS 2 Spokane

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VIDEO: The search for 26-year-old Neil Gehring in Olympic National Park has entered its 10th day, with rescuers turning to technology in an effort to find him. Members of Seattle Mountain Rescue are assisting with the search. Among the tools being used are drones and artificial intelligence, technology that is increasingly becoming part of the search-and-rescue toolkit.

For Daniel Hwang, the value of that technology is personal. Hwang was climbing near North Bend when he fell about 30 feet, breaking several bones and tearing a lung. The impact left him struggling to breathe. “I couldn’t get a good breath in,” Hwang said. But help arrived within minutes.

“Ten, 15 minutes later,” Hwang recalled, “like somebody was there.” That response is what Seattle Mountain Rescue has provided for decades. The mission has remained largely the same: find people in trouble and get them out safely. But the tools rescuers use to do that are changing.

KREM-TV CBS 2 Spokane

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