Since 1982, the Southern Tier Law Enforcement Memorial Association (STLEMA) has honored and remembered the law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
At a media event on Jan. 10 at the Public Safety Office (Tioga County Sheriff’s Office), STLEMA President, Paul Burnett, discussed plans for the Mobile Police Memorial, a Police Honor Roll wall that will travel throughout the Troop C district over the course of the next several weeks.
Burnett explained that in past years the portable wall has been displayed during a week-long series of events held in May during Police Week, this year scheduled during the week of May 13, but organization members decided that it should be taken to the communities directly so more people have a chance to see it.
Burnett, a retired Johnson City police officer with 30 years of service, commented, “We don’t want them to be forgotten,” adding, “One week is not enough.”
The Mobile Police Memorial’s first stop is in Tioga County. The wall will travel next to sheriff’s offices in Chenango County, Tompkins, Cortland, Otsego and Delaware Counties, with a final stop in Broome County.
Sheriff Gary Howard, a 40-year veteran of the Tioga County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff since 2004, commented, “We cannot forget those names,” adding, “And it means a lot for the community, too.”
The wall lists 39 names of fallen officers, and two K-9 officers, who gave their lives in the line of duty from 1845 to 2014. From Tioga County, the wall lists two officers from Owego; Issac Wiltse, July 17, 1869 and Forrest A. Hall, Oct. 13, 1969; and, one officer from Waverly, Elmer Beers, April 28, 1968.
A special touch to the portable wall are words inscribed above the names, “Earth’s Heroes – Heaven’s Guardians.”
The Mobile Police Memorial will be available for the public to view in the lobby of the Tioga County Sheriff’s Office, located at 103 Corporate Dr. in Owego. Hours are daily, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., through Feb. 6.
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