Canton Township officials and residents memorialized the lives lost to the COVID-19 pandemic recently in the shadow of a new testing facility in Heritage Park.
The Canton Police and Fire Department Honor Guard presented the flag while Devyn Mitchell sang the National Anthem at the ceremony. Township religious participated in the service memorializing the 92 Canton Township residents who had died of the disease to that date. Offering prayers and invocations were Geneva Presbyterian Church Pastor Bryan Smith, Tahini Peracha (Muslin Community of the Western Suburbs), TejKiran Singh (Singh Sabha of Michigan, Sikh community) and Chandru Acharya, president of South-Asian American Voices of Impact, who represented the Hindu community.
Ninety two white flags representing the lives lost were erected at the base of the state in the shadow of a new virus testing station in the parking lot a short distance away.
“This is a significant moment in our history as we safely gather to honor all of the people who we have lost to the coronavirus, especially our Canton neighbors,” said Canton Township Supervisor Anne Marie Graham-Hudak said. “These people were mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, cousins and neighbors.”
State Reps. Matt Koleszar and Ranjeev Puri, and Wayne County Commissioner Melissa Daub also spoke to the audience which included township officials Dian Slavens, Michael Siegrist, Sommer Foster, Steven Sneideman, Kate Borninski and Tania Ganguly.
“While I'm proud of the way Canton Township residents have responded to the pandemic by wearing masks and social-distancing, we can't let our guard down until a large percentage of the globe is vaccinated,” Graham-Hudak said.
