ENP STAFF REPORTS
news@eastniagarapost.com

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Lockport-based non-profit organization S.E.R.V. Niagara recently added four new board members and began a new volunteer recruitment campaign.

Joining the board are Army-veteran and former Niagara County Sheriff Thomas Beilein, Marine Corp Veteran and retired VA counselor Theodore (Ted) Zawada, Army Veteran and President of World Trade Center Buffalo Niagara Erin Cole, and Niagara Hospice Director of Development Brendan McIntyre.

The board of directors works with S.E.R.V. Niagara staff and volunteers to provide temporary and permanent housing to homeless veterans, counseling services, and other resources to help empower our veterans in their civilian lives.

In Niagara County, there are 20,000 civilian veterans, nearly 10 percent of the county population. Of the 20,000 veterans, 12.5 percent have a service-connected disability. The poverty rate for New Yorkers with disabilities ages 18-64 is 28.6 percent — more than twice the rate for persons without disabilities. Many of the veterans S.E.R.V. Niagara works with are service-disabled veterans, as well as veterans with substance abuse issues and PTSD.

Individuals can help support those who have served our country by helping with S.E.R.V. Niagara special events, like the upcoming August 7 golf tournament, fundraising, landscaping, painting, and more. Anyone with any talents they’d like to share, is asked to visit www.SERVniagara.org or call 438-5437.

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Visitors to the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall for the opening ceremony Thursday evening numbered in the hundreds. The wall will be stationed at Lockport Town Hall through Monday morning. (SCOTT LEFFLER / ENP STAFF)

By +Scott Leffler 
scott.leffler@eastniagarapost.com

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More than 58,000 names adorn the 3/5 scale wall — just like on the original version in Washington, D.C. (PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY ELIZABETH GRIMMER)

TOWN OF LOCKPORT ― The size of the "miniature" Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall was only outmatched by the size of the crowd visiting it for the opening ceremonies Thursday evening.

As the clock drew closer to 5 p.m., people milled around the front lawn of Lockport Town Hall. Some quietly talked with friends. Others silently stared at the American flag hoisted above. Many meandered down the length of the nearly 300-foot wall, gaping at the more than 58,000 names of those lost to the war.

Many had programs in their hand, listing the events planned for the wall's time in Lockport, as well as the names of the 79 Lockport-area service members who lost their lives during the war.

Rifles broke the near-silence at 5 o'clock, beginning the opening ceremonies for the wall's four-plus day visit to the Town of Lockport. Taps played and the town's flag was replaced with the POW/MIA flag.

The speakers were mostly somber — including Town Councilman Paul Siejak, former Niagara County Sheriff (and Vietnam veteran) Tom Beilein, and Town Supervisor Marc Smith and Mayor Anne McCaffrey, who jointly coined June 10 through June 15 as "Vietnam Veterans Memorial Week."

Friday, a ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. with a declaration of "Law Enforcement/Fire Fighters/1st Responders Day." Sheriff Jim Voutour will be the keynote speaker. Saturday is "Military Service/Civic Day" with Col. William Bryndle - USAF retired and state Sen. Rob Ortt offering the keynote speeches for the 10 a.m. ceremony. Sunday features a Flag Day ceremony put on by the Lockport Elks Lodge #41.

Niagara County Sheriff Jim Voutour salutes during the singing of the National Anthem Thursday at the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall. (SCOTT LEFFLER / ENP STAFF)

RELATED LINKS:

• Photos from the opening ceremony Thursday evening
• Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall receives hero's escort
• Photos of the motorcade escorting the wall to Lockport Town Hall

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Niagara County Sheriff Voutour, left, is sworn in as a president of the New York State Sheriffs Association by Thomas A. Beilein, chairman of the NYS Commission of Correction. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

ENP STAFF REPORTS
news@eastniagarapost.com

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ALBANY — Niagara County Sheriff Jim Voutuor will lead the New York Sheriffs' Association after the group's board of directors elected him president at their 81st Annual Winter Training Conference.

Voutour was sworn in Tuesday by Thomas A. Beilein, chairman of the NYS Commission of Corrections and former Niagara County Sheriff.

As President, Sheriff Voutour will work with New York’s sheriffs to further the efforts of the Sheriffs’ Association to enhance public safety across the state through professional training and accreditation programs, public safety programs, and advocacy.

Voutour is a 22-year member of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office and he is serving in his seventh year as the Sheriff of Niagara County. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Business from SUNY Brockport and his Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Niagara University.

The New York State Sheriffs’ Association, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation, formed in 1934, for the purpose of assisting sheriffs in the efficient and effective delivery of services to the public. It comprises all of the elected and appointed sheriffs of New York State.

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