MONROE UNFILTERED: THE DAILY BUZZ | Sept. 11
Never Forget: The Impact on Monroe
Friday, September 11, 2026
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DAILY WEATHER: THE SAME SKY
Twenty-five years ago today, New York City wasn’t just clear, it was what forecasters still call “severe clear.” A high-pressure system had settled over the Northeast, pushing what was left of Hurricane Erin out to sea, and Central Park logged a high of 81°F, a low of 63°F, and not a drop of rain. Brilliant sun from Long Island through Virginia. That clarity is part of why the day is burned into so many memories the way it is: nothing stood between what happened and the people who saw it.
Today looks like an echo of it. Mostly sunny, a high near 80°F, and no rain in the forecast. Step outside this afternoon and you’ll be looking at nearly the same sky Monroe County’s commuters saw on their way into the city that Tuesday morning in 2001.
It turns on us fast after that. Saturday holds a high near 80°F with a chance of showers, mainly after 2 p.m., then showers likely with a possible thunderstorm overnight (a quarter to half an inch of rain). Sunday warms to a high near 84°F, with showers and a possible thunderstorm again after 2 p.m. Monday clears back out, mostly sunny with a high near 76°F.
FIVE BEST OF MONROE: REMEMBERING OUR OWN
Sept. 11, 2026 marks a quarter century since the attacks, so we’re setting aside the usual rankings this week to remember five Monroe County neighbors who never came home.
George Lopez, 40, Jackson Township. Lopez worked for Fiduciary Trust on the 97th floor of the South Tower. After the first plane hit the North Tower, he called his wife, Wanda, to tell her he was safe: “I’m here and something happened in the other building. Either an explosion or a bomb.” He told her he’d call again once he got out. The Lopezes had two young kids, a daughter in third grade at Pocono Elementary Center in Tannersville and a 4-year-old son. Wanda’s employer, Century 21 Millennium, set up a fund for the family.
Joseph “Joe” Flounders, 46, Middle Smithfield Township. Flounders had moved to the Poconos from Brooklyn Heights a few years before 2001, trading city life for a commute that started at 3:30 a.m.: drive to New Jersey, catch a train into Manhattan, be at his desk by 8:30. He worked as a money-market broker for EuroBrokers on the 84th floor of the South Tower.
Mary Melendez, 44, Hamilton Township. Mary and her husband had bought a house in the area about a year and a half before the attacks and were still settling into Pocono life, commuting two hours each way to her job as a vice president at Fiduciary Trust Company, a role she’d worked her way up to over 15 years. She was on the 90th floor of the South Tower when the second plane hit. Her niece said Mary called her husband right after, telling him not to worry: “It’s not my building.”
Harry Blanding Jr., 38, Blakeslee. Blanding worked as a claims examiner for Aon Corp., whose offices sat in the impact zone of the South Tower. Described by family as “the life of the party,” he coached youth football for the Pleasant Valley Cubs and was a devoted New York sports fan. He’d moved to Blakeslee from New Jersey. He left behind his wife, Debbie, their 4-year-old daughter Hayley, and two younger sons.
Walter Arthur McNeil, 53, Middle Smithfield Township. A Port Authority police officer stationed at the Holland Tunnel and a Vietnam veteran, McNeil was among the first responders who reported to the Trade Center after the first plane struck. He was last seen setting up a command post before the South Tower was hit.
Five Monroe County lives lost.
A PERSPECTIVE FROM ONE OF OUR OWN
Monroe County reader Frank Seigel wrote to us this week, unprompted, with his 9/11 story. We printed his story in his own words.
I was in the 92nd floor of the south tower on September 10, as a consultant to Aon. I was there as part of a team to help set up a new computer system to digitize their files, and electronically access them from anywhere in the country. They were ahead of the game in that respect. Unfortunately, or fortunately, as the case may be, there were workmen in the area and they disconnected certain cables, which made their local computer network that we were to use inoperable. (there was no ethernet at the time just cable.) As a result, we were sent home at noon or so on September 10 with the instructions to return at 9 AM on September 11. Later in the afternoon on September 10, our team received a phone call from Aon that the repairs had not been made and the Aon folks wanted an extra day to make sure that the system was working, so they asked us to return on Wednesday, September 12.
G-d just didn’t want me to die that day, but my friends at AON weren’t so lucky. The senior vice president of Aon, responsible for that office, who was pregnant at the time, and whom I knew from a previous employment, ended up being trapped in a subway when the building collapsed and perished. Fortunately, she never made it to her office, which overlooked, on one corner, Liberty Island, and the other corner down the Hudson River. She would’ve had a direct view of the plane coming directly at her.
Like my friend, I have never visited the Memorial, although I intended to, and will watch the ceremonies tomorrow out of respect. My office will be closed as well, out of respect.
Thank you, Frank, for sharing your story (and thankful fate kept you with us!).
HOW MONROE COUNTY IS MARKING THE DAY
Flags across the country, including here in Monroe County, fly at half-staff today under a presidential proclamation for the 25th anniversary of the attacks. If you want to mark the moment the way the rest of the country will, the six times are: 8:46 a.m. (North Tower hit), 9:03 a.m. (South Tower hit), 9:37 a.m. (the Pentagon), 9:59 a.m. (South Tower collapse), 10:07 a.m. (Flight 93, Shanksville), and 10:28 a.m. (North Tower collapse).
Two ways to mark it close to home. The Pocono Lions Club is holding a 25th Anniversary Commemoration today, reportedly 8 a.m. to noon at Lake Naomi Club Beach in Tobyhanna Township; reach out to poconolions@gmail.com to attend or volunteer. At East Stroudsburg University, faculty, staff, students, and athletes are running the annual 9/11 Moving Flag Tribute, carrying a flag around campus from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., starting near Zimbar Hall; it’s open to anyone who wants to take a turn, and veterans@esu.edu can get you in.