Don't forget to mark your calendars for the next two upcoming in-person programs:

The City of Corning and the Steuben County Sheriff's Office have announced a unique partnership to begin a Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative that will develop a police reform plan to be used by police agencies throughout the county.

This initiative is in response to Governor Cuomo's Executive Order 203, requiring the chief executive of each local government to convene with the head of its police agency and community stakeholders to review police operations and develop any needed reform plan. The Steuben / Corning collaborative is empaneling representatives from law enforcement, elected and appointed officials and numerous board liaisons from the City of Corning and Steuben County.

Steuben County Sheriff Jim Allard (pictured) says, "Once in a generation, I feel we get an opportunity to meet as a county-wide group of law enforcement professionals and municipal stakeholders and have the opportunity to actually meet face-to-face, one-on-one with a wide variety of stakeholders and make meaningful changes in the service we provide to our communities. This is that time."

The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office celebrated the opening of its new center to provide inmates with transitional services after leaving jail.

The Sheriff’s Transition and Re-entry Team (S.T.A.R.T.) Resource Center offers a range of practical transitional services, including employment assistance, connections to housing, treatment and mental healthcare, clothing, food — even advice on how to handle the pandemic. In fact, it has helped more than 100 clients during the height of the pandemic.

The center is a unique and innovative model that has been a dream of Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. (pictured above, right). He developed the idea based on his long career in the field of law enforcement and corrections. Before being elected Sheriff of Suffolk County, Sheriff Toulon served at the New York City Department of Corrections, retiring at the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Operations.

“When I was a young child, I asked my father, a warden on Riker’s Island, what he did for a living. He said, ‘We rehabilitate people.’ That stuck with me throughout my 30-year career in law enforcement, and creating this Resource Center is the realization of a lifelong dream to send people back into the community with the tools they need to be productive members of society.” Sheriff Toulon's father was on hand for the ceremony.

Erie County Sheriff Timothy B. Howard announced that John Greenan (pictured) would take over as Undersheriff after the retirement of Undersheriff Mark N. Wipperman on August 7. Greenan was sworn in to his new position on August 8.

Two Madison County Sheriff's Deputies were honored for helping rescue a man early last month trapped underneath a lawn tractor that fell into a waterway.

Deputies Darren Ladd and Robert Marriott were awarded Division Commendations for saving the resident pinned underneath the overturned lawn tractor in the Oneida Creek, who was struggling to keep his head above water when the Deputies arrived.

Sheriff Todd Hood said Ladd and Marriott immediately entered the creek, where Deputy Ladd was able to lift the lawn tractor off of the victim, while Deputy Marriott supported the victim’s head above the waterline.

Former Clinton County Sheriff John “Jack” Lawliss passed away August 2. He was 86 years old. Sheriff Lawliss served as Sheriff of Clinton County from January 1999 through 2002. Before becoming Sheriff, he had earlier served as New York State Police Troop B Commander.

Lawliss began his career with State Police in 1955 after four years' service in the Navy. Most of his State Police career was spent in Malone and other Troop B locations, where he rose through the ranks as Sergeant, Investigator and then Troop Commander.

After ten years of retirement from the State Police, he returned to law enforcement as the elected Sheriff of Clinton County. Sheriff Lawliss was an active member of the Association during his tenure as Sheriff and brought a wealth of law-enforcement experience to Association meetings and discussions. Our condolences to his wife, Gail, and family.