A small break for local stories.

Considering the media coverage for the Middle East I want to look the stories that would normally get overlooked. I have three, two are tragic and the last one has a happier ending. But all are a reminder of those that volunteer for the risks and dangers of public service.

The first one is from Poughkeepsie, New York where the community is remembering the loss of Officer John Falcone. He was killed in the line of duty. The link has more details about his life and the the loss of one of New York’s Finest.

Nearby, lower Main Street’s neighborhood was somber, as many people there who had never met fallen police Officer John Falcone mourned the loss of his life. Falcone was killed by 27-year-old Lee M. Welch after the Catskill man fatally shot his estranged wife, Jessica Welch, 28, in the presence of their 3-year-old daughter.

Residents in Augusta, Maine are paying their last respects to twenty year old Private Jordan Chase. He died in Fort Jackson and a cause of death has not been made public.

LePage says he joins all Maine residents in extending their deepest condolences to Chase’s family. He says Chase was “in training to serve and defend us all.” He says he’s saddened by Chase’s death.
Maine’s U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe says the 20-year-old’s service “will live on in the collective heart of our grateful nation.” She says he “answered our country’s most honorable call” by joining the Maine Army National Guard.

Two Cadets were rescued in a night air lift in the area of Highlands New York by Local Police.

The helicopter’s pilot, Officer Steven Browning, said in a telephone interview on Sunday that he had never faced such difficult flying conditions in his 14 years with the Police Department, with powerful winds blasting in two directions and with his rotors clearing the cliff face by just 20 feet.

Category: Breaking News