|
 Fundraiser includes
dunking the mayor and administrator
He was quite a guy. Ask the
public officials willing to take a dunk for his family. Or his
fellow officers who, for the right donation, would be willing to
demonstrate what it feels like to be hit with a taser.
“I'll be passing around the hat,” Monroe County Sheriff's Office
Deputy Jon Crane said. “If I raise enough money, I'll be willing to
take a hit with a taser.”
Crane is pulling together a benefit Saturday to help the family of
Deputy William Holliman, who died in an August motorcycle accident
at age 37.
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The Saturday event at
Boondocks on Ramrod Key stands to draw a lot of locals, and not
only those whose hearts go out to Holliman's family.
County Mayor Mario Di Gennaro and County Administrator Tom Willi
have agreed to position themselves precariously above a tankful of
water, targets in a dunk tank.
“It's for a good cause, why not?” Di Gennaro asks. He says he
expects some of his most vocal critics - and there are many - to
take a shot at him.
Willi, whose tenure with the county has not
been without criticism either, says he's not worried.
“I figure a lot of people have horrible aim,” Willi said. “The
mayor says he's going to go broke dunking me, though. I hope I
don't drown by the end of the day.”
The benefit, which runs from noon until 6 p.m., offers a variety of
fun for families including equestrian and K-9 demonstrations, live
music and an auction. And - whether Crane actually gets tased -
there will be demonstrations on the use and power of
tasers.
“He was a very good friend of
mine,”
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|
Officer Keith Rendules
for the city and Deputy Kenneth Fricke for the
county |
Crane said of Holliman. “He
was just the type of guy who had charisma and a good attitude. He
was known for his smile; it lit up the room.”
Jeanetta Joseph, Holliman's fiance, agrees. She met him when she
was in junior high and he was a high school student. They lived in
Homestead.
“It was the smile that got me,” she said. “I fell for that
smile.”
She said they dated for awhile when they were
kids, then he went off to college.
“Then about 11 years ago he came back,” she said, “and started
working at the Florida Department of Corrections. That's when we
got together.”
 Joseph is a
corrections officer at the Plantation Key jail. Holliman was a
detention deputy for seven years.
Holliman and Joseph have five kids among them ranging in age from 6
to 17: Ashley, Tyshara, William III, Javonte and Shaveria.
The money raised during the benefit will start a college fund for
Holliman's kids.
“I appreciate this so much,” Joseph. Holliman “was always wanting
to work and do for his kids.” |
Keys
unite for fallen deputy