September 1999

President's Message :
President's Message: September 1999

As the summer comes to a close, we go full swing with many of our programs that we have planned for the Fall, but first a retrospect of the last summer of the millenium.

    June's meeting was a success.  We had the Board of the NYS Empire Lodge come and talk to our members and they made a donation to our Memorial Wall.  Our guest speaker was Mark Cooper of WPDH who did a stand up routine for us and had us in stitches.  He talked about the meeting the next morning on the air, and even talked to a few of the members on the air .

    July was busy.  We had a few of the Board members help the Conklin Family at the 2nd Annual Jason Conklin Memorial Golf Outing, and quite a few of the members played at the outing.  Later that night at the meeting, we had newly retired Chief Louis Anemone Chief of Department speak to our members.

    August's meeting was a first for us - we dispensed with the regular meeting and had a BBQ.  With just fifty members there, we demolished over 600 steamers and clams on the half shell, thanks to Sean Franklin's kids who worked their butts off shucking clams.  It seems that the BBQ idea makes for a more laid back atmosphere and more eating, since we went through more food then usual.  If members like the idea we will make it an annual event.  Our guest for the night was John Tobin, the other half of the Cooper and Tobin Show on WPDH.  One day we will get them both to attend the meeting. John was looking for some funny stories about police work that he wants to put on the air.  If anyone is interested, call the Hotline and we will give you the studio line, John and Mark promise to protect your identity.

    September will be a busy month for us.  Member Ken Cashman, Head of the Monroe Bicenntenial Committee, has donated a spot for the FOP at the 5th Annual Monroe Cheese Festival.  We will be outside the new Monroe PD headquarters, providing parents with a free Child ID kit, fingerprinting and photographing their kids, and giving the kids free coloring books that we are designing.  We will have a Drawing of our Memorial Wall on display in the event anyone wants to donate to it.  I will be bringing it to our meetings.  I would like to thank Mary Roosa for donating her time and considerable talents to design our Wall.  Without Mary's help the cost of the project would have been prohibitive.

    October 8,9,10, we will be hosting our Guns and Hoses Softball Tournament at Smith Clove Park, we had to change everything due to scheduling conflicts.  During the Tournament, on the 10th, we will be providing free V.I.N. etching to the community, which can give up to a 10% discount on your insurance.  Again, we will have the Wall displayed for anyone wishing to donate.

    We are looking for volunteers for the Cheese Festival, anyone who is interested in lending an hour fingerprinting kids, please call me or e-mail so I can get a list going so we can make this a reality.  Look for more information in the Times-Herald Record in the upcoming weeks.

    Lastly, as I write this column, August 21st approaches.  It was on this date two years ago that Police Officer Jason Conklin gave his young life in the Line Of Duty.  I ask that all members keep Jason and his family and friends in their thoughts and prayers.  I also hope that all our efforts and deeds have done justice to Jason's memories.

    Remember, stay safe and wear your vest.

~Tom


Get Well Wishes:

To Al Veaz on his speedy recovery on his recent illness.


Special Thanks:

Several of our members were involved in a fatal shooting, fortunately none of them were hurt, but as with protocol the main officer was taken to NY Hospital where he and the other officers were given great care by Chief Dom Guidice's sister-in-law Nurse.  She treated the Officer in his time of stress with great care and compassion and treated the escort officers with great professionalism.  We cops need more nurses like her.


Condolences :

We have received news that two of our members, John Sullivan and his family lost their son, David , 22 years old.  The funeral mass was held at St. Anastia in Harriman.  Please keep John, and Elizabeth, our members, and their family and friend during this rough time.


Sign Up Month :

September starts the annual sign up month.  All members dues become due in October.  We ask that all members please pay their dues on time, so they may be forwarded to the State and National Lodge to continue your benefits, this is particularly important if you plan to travel out of state.
 
    Some of the other benefits that go our members are the free Driver safety cours being offered to our members this fall, non members will be paying $30.00 per person, our members and families go free.
 
    Starting this meeting. members will be checked at the door.  Nonmembers will be charged a slightly higher house tax.  A member is a member of any FOP Lodge, not just 957.


Boycott :

The National FOP Convention has announced the following boycott, of which we heartily agree with.
 
    The National FOP has announced that the following products and performers should be boycotted based upon their ardent support of the convicted killer of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner, executed in the Line of Duty , by Mumia Abul-Jamal, who has gained celebrity status by these misguided individuals:

Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream major supporter of the Abul-Jamal Legal Defense Fund
Paul Newman and Susan Sarandon, Actors and outspoken supporters of the killer
Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, and John Landis, Directors
Sting, and REM, musicians
Naomi Campbell model
Norman Mailer, Joyce Carol Oates, authors.

    All the above are screaming for the convicted killers rights and have not mentioned the widow and children of the slain Police Officer.
 
    Please support this nationwide Boycott.


MEMORIAL WALL BIOGRAPHIES
 
    The Board feels that in an effort to honor the Officers that we will be engraving on the Orange County Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Wall, we will be doing a monthly installment of a brief biography with photos of the Officer where possible.
 
Trooper Carl T. Wilder
New York State Police, Troop K.
 
    On September 7,1928, while on routine patrol on the Tuxedo-Greenwood Lake Highway(present day rte 17a),Trooper Carl T. Wilder was discovered laying on the road, next to his motorcycle .  The passerby, a Deputy Sheriff from New York County, had stopped to change his tire and observed Trooper Wilder injured, he had been shot once in the back.  The Deputy Sheriff transported Trooper Wilder to the Hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds, never identifying his killer.  To this date, the killer has never been found.  The only piece of physical evidence was a torn neck tie found eight inches from where Trooper Wilder was found.
 
No photograph is know to exist of Trooper Wilder.
 


Ads :

The ads of the supporters of our Lodge, shows more than just their verbal support.  It gives us the resources to publish this newsletter monthly, which we are printing five hundred copies a month.  their support provides for the printing fees and mailing fees, which as you can imagine is considerable, coupled on top of the rental fees and catering fees is the price of a small monthly mortgage.  The Board will pay the annual dues for any member who brings in two or more paid ads.  For more information on this, please talk to any Board Member or e-mail the editors.


Again, this is your newsletter, whatever you would like to see printed please submit it.  we will print anything from the members, pro or con.  We will not practice censorship, just correct for spelling.  We want to make this a newsletter that the readers, our members, look forward to.