“The Memorial lists over 7,000 officers who were killed in the line of duty. Their names are permanently etched on the Memorial’s marble walls, which are added to once a year for Police Memorial Day. On Police Memorial Day (May 15th) the Memorial hosts hundreds of police officers, family survivors and dignitaries. The event is a somber reminder that every 57 hours, a police officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in America.”

I feel like I should be writing something about you, Jay. That’s what I do. I write to express emotion, I write to stay sane and, among other things, I write to grieve.

Link to story:

http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20080404/NEWS/804040359/1002/NEWS

If you’ve never heard about Wreaths Across America before please go to their website and read their story. This is a most excellent organization and if you’re looking for something to donate to, this could be it. I was at one of their wreath laying ceremonies Saturday December 15th that was hosted by the Civil Air Patrol and shot some pictures. The ceremony was held at Kanapaha Park Veterans Memorial.

Though there weren’t a great number of attendees, the ceremony was nice and Senator Oelrich attended and gave a short speech.You’ll notice that most of the shots I’ve posted are of the Colorguard. They were tight and polished, doing the Civil Air Patrol proud. The Group 2 (Gainesville/Suwannee) Color Guard have earned the title of 2008 Florida Wing Champions. The team consists of Gainesville cadets Tim Lhota (commander), Tiffany Jakowczuk, and Josh Davidson as well as Suwannee Valley cadet Heather Paul.

Kanapaha Park Veterans Memorial

Lt. Bart Knowles

Captain Ed Book

Family, Colleagues and Friends

l to r Chief Botsford, Jeremy Foley and Dr. Bernie Machen

The Dahlem Family.

This blog entry meant with all due respect to the memory of Lt. Corey Dahlem and the Dahlem Family. If any member of the family would like their image removed from here, please contact me at traveler@agoraphoto.biz and I will be glad to honor their wishes. If there is something that they would like to see added or if they would like help setting up a memorial blog or site, please contact me, I would be honored to help.

Gainesville Police Department’s Memorial Page for Lt. Dahlem

http://www.gainesvillepd.org/default.htm

The News Stories:

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20071207/NEWS/71207047/1002/NEWS

Assorted Links:

http://www.madd.org/Drunk-Driving.aspx

The cost of drunk driving according to the Centers for Disease Control.