Blue ribbons in Polk Township tribute to police
Blue ribbons in the West End are to honor fallen police officers. (Keith R. Stevenson/Pocono Record)
By Howard Frank Pocono Record Writer
Thomas Richmond was working for the sheriff’s department in Mesilla, New Mexico when he pulled a car over for speeding. Richmond was shot and killed when he exited his car. He was 53.
Now his daughter, Dorothy Jeker of Kresgeville, is leading an effort to honor him and other members of law enforcement.
“Our goal is to tie a blue ribbon around all the utility poles, 193 between Zinc City and Turkey Hill, that’s from the western to eastern edge of Polk Township,” she said. “We haven’t counted the north and south roads; 193 was daunting.”
The Polk Township Parks and Recreation Committee is placing the blue ribbons on utility poles on Route 209 and connecting roads in the township. The idea for the ribbons was spurred by recent events.
“There’s so much death of police in the country, and I’m familiar with that because my father was killed in the line of duty,” she said. "It’s because every time a police officer goes to work in the morning, his family doesn’t know if he’ll come home.”
The ribbons are there to show the police state police and sheriff’s department that they have the community’s support. Jeker said, “We hope they know we are thinking of them as they go driving by, and get home safe.”
A community like the West End is so spread out that a rally didn’t seem feasible. “And the ribbons are always there,” she said.
Members of the Parks and Recreation Committee are making the ribbons.
“We are purchasing the ribbon through donations from local businesses. We started last Saturday, July 30, and I’d like to have them all up by the start of the (West End) fair on Aug. 21.”
Jeker stopped by the State police barracks in Lehighton so it would be aware of the purpose behind the ribbons. They thanked the group and took one of the ribbons.
The committee will be handing out smaller ribbons at the township’s recycling center between 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Sat., Aug 6, and then again on Wednesday, Aug. 10. Those ribbons were donated by Concerns of Police Survivors, a national organization that takes care of the surviving families of officers killed in the line of duty.
“We received 500 of (the smaller blue ribbons) and I hope to go through them and request more,” she said. "I also have them here at the store.”
That store, Jeker’s General Store, is located on Route 534 in Kresgeville. It’s open between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Story and Photo from the Pocono Record
