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Ms. Dennis indicated she had been inspired by the response of the community through services, vigils, donations of cash and blood, and the outpouring of concern for those in New York and Washington D.C. She urged people to continue to pray for peace that is needed in the world. Ms. Ayala hoped that as people pledge allegiance and sing "God Bless America" and have dinner with family and friends, that they see these events in a new light and appreciate the freedom we have. She thanked everyone in the community, especially the public service officers, who we rely on and give us strength. Ms. Michelotti also thanked the people who organized the vigils. It is inspiring to see the way the young people in Pleasanton have responded. They are the pride of the City. Her thoughts were also for the men from the members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars who carried the flag at the Friday vigil and who fought for our freedom in prior wars. Mr. Campbell said his first thoughts had been for the children who had lost mothers and fathers in the attack. This is a huge loss for this country. There is a sign at Amador Valley High School that says "How do you want to be remembered?" It is important that when we are faced with difficult situations that we rise to the challenge and do something that benefits the community and turn away from being selfish. He also thanked those who had organized services and vigils. We are 3,000 miles away fi.om the tragedy and it is difficult to grasp what those people are going through. Every effort on our part helps, whether it is holding vigils, giving blood, donations, or whatever. Mayor Pico said he was one of the many people trying to purchase a flag last week and every store he tried was sold out. He remembered he had a red, white and blue banner with the great seal of the United States on it and he related the symbolism. An eagle holds an olive branch with thirteen leaves and thirteen olives in its right talon symbolizing the preference to live in peace and in the other talon are thirteen arrows symbolizing the power to wage war. In its beak is a scroll that reads "e pluribus unum" which translates to "one out of many" and refers to one nation of many states. This was adopted in 1789. Today that means one nation of many families, religions and ethnic groups. We prefer to live in peace. He indicated he had seen a political cartoon this week that showed only the talon with the arrows and did not show the olive branch. He felt we must continue to think about peace and to maintain and preserve our humanity. He urged people to remember love is much stronger than hate. Ms. McKeehan stated that the horrific event of last week will be one of the dark moments in our country's history. As city employees we watched the events a little more attentively than others might. We recognize the heroic efforts of the police and fire personnel since they are the first to respond in any sort of emergency. This emergency response was almost surreal in its magnitude and scope. Even though we were across the country from the event, we also began to meet with our regional offices of emergency services to take preparatory action to protect anything that might be in harm's way if the attack on America was not over. No one knew what other targets the terrorists may have had. She indicated that in the next few months staff would provide an overview at a Council meeting of the regions' emergency plans, whether for natural or manmade disaster. Typically in a community of Pleasanton's size, we would be dealing with Pleasanton City Council 2 09/18/01 Minutes