MOUNTED DIVISION: Fundraiser set for Sunday

By Tasha Kates / katest@gnnewspaper.com
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal

September 15, 2006 12:43 am

— The Niagara County Sheriff’s Department’s Mounted Division will be “horsing around” Sunday during the second annual Horsin’ Around For Law Enforcement fundraiser at the Niagara County Fairgrounds.
Members will be raising money to support their volunteer branch of the sheriff’s department. The group has been around for more than three decades.
Lt. Tom Chiappone said the group of about 18 has various roles to assist the sheriff’s department.
“Like the Marine and K-9 divisions, we are volunteers,” Chiappone said. “We can be activated at any time. We do whatever they need us for, like crowd control. We can get into areas that are inaccessible by cars and four-wheelers.”
The Sunday event will raise money for the equipment that the group needs, such as bridles and safety equipment, Deputy Donna Richards said.
Richards said she would like to see the branch raise enough money for safety vests for the officers.
“We are just as vulnerable as anybody up there,” she said. “But vests are expensive. They run about $500 apiece.”
Richards and husband Sgt. Allen Richards raise horses to ride on their Akron Road ranch. Mounted Division personnel all own their horses.
From 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., attendees can enjoy a Niagara County 4-H horse show, craft and food vendors, a chicken BBQ to support the 4-H program, Western tack raffle, basket raffles, Chinese auctions and even a blessing of the horses through a ceremonial dance of the Tuscarora Indians.
Donna Richards said the division also will hold a competition among themselves and other counties’ divisions starting at 1 p.m. The Untouchables will perform several sets between 1 and 5 p.m., belting out music from the 1950s through the 1980s.
Admission is $2 per person. The event is free for children under 12. Children will get an up-close visit with the horses, if they wish.
Chiappone said he is hoping for a good turnout this year.
“The one thing that is nice about the event is that it brings public awareness of how the different branches of law enforcement all work together,” Chiappone said. “It shows how much we help each other.”

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