Published: January 08, 2009 06:21 pm      

Boot drive for memorial is this weekend

PICAYUNE — The Picayune Police Department is conducting a “boot drive” this weekend to raise funds for a new Police Memorial and to help finance their “Ride to Remember” to thank police departments that assisted Picayune in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The boot drive fund raiser will be held Saturday 10:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the intersection of U.S. 11 and Canal Street, said Lt. Chad Dorn. Funds raised at the event will help pay for the department to make their “Ride to Remember” trip and also build a new Police Memorial.

The new memorial will be constructed in front of the Police Department. It will feature engraved bricks purchased by community members to honor their favorite officer, past and present, and also the fallen officer memorial currently on display in front of the department. Dorn said those bricks will be available for purchase soon.

The Ride to Remember will take place in May and is being made to present proclamations to the various departments that helped the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Dorn said.

Four department motorcycles, a truck and trailer, and six officers will participate in the ride. Stops will be made at Madison, Miss., and Brentwood, Tenn., before they head to Washington, D.C. to participate in the national police memorial ceremony, Dorn said. After the national memorial ceremony, the officers will head to Prince Williams County in Virginia and the Virginia State Police. The final stop will be in Jacksonville, Fla.

After the stops are made and the department presents proclamations to all those departments, they will head back to Picayune to hold their own Police Memorial ceremony. Dorn said he hopes to raise enough money to have the new memorial constructed before then.

“We’re having these fund raisers to have the money to do it all,” Dorn said.