Local artists unveil 9/11 sculpture

Battle Ground — Jim Demetro and Christina Demetro, his daughter, teamed up for a “9/11 Spirit of America Memorial” sculpture and attended a dedication ceremony for their work on Sept. 11 at its permanent location at Cashmere Riverside Center in Cashmere. The sculpture has four bronze life-size figures standing in a circle facing out and looking upward. Each figure’s hands reach downward, with space between the figures allowing people to step in and hold hands with them and to represent people who were never found after the attacks, according to a release about the work. The figures get more detailed higher up on their bodies, so “the statues rise from the rubble with a rough texture transitioning to more details on their bodies, signifying rising above the challenges,” according to the same release. More than 1,000 people attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.