15-02-2025
Blakely Mardi Gras celebration to support police K-9 program
From ballistic shields to a K-9, the Blakely Borough Crime Watch's annual Mardi Gras Celebration supports the Blakely Police Department each year.
'To see the people from the community come out and back us up considering everything that's gone on in the law enforcement world, it's great to know that the public, our residents of Blakely Borough, back us up,' Police Chief Guy Salerno said, adding that people from outside the borough also attend to support the department. 'It's really amazing to see that outpouring of support.'
Mayor Jeanette Acciare-Mariani founded the crime watch in 2006 after taking office, and for the past decade, the crime watch has held a Mardi Gras fundraiser to support the Police Department, she said.
'Whatever they need, we try to raise enough money for it,' the mayor said.
This year's pre-Lent festivities will be Feb. 28 from 6 to 10 p.m. at Fiorelli's, 1501 Main St. in Peckville, with tickets costing $70 each, Acciare-Mariani said. The celebration will feature a New Orleans-inspired menu with beer, wine and soda included, a cash bar and live music.
Mardi Gras is the crime watch's major fundraiser for the Police Department, with the biggest donation being nearly $20,000 last year to pay for K-9 Gero — a German shepherd whose name is pronounced like 'hero' but with a 'G' — his training and everything else he needed, Acciare-Mariani said.
'(I'm) so very pleased that we were able to donate that to the Police Department,' she said. 'I always ask them, 'What do you want? What do you need?' I go over it with the chief, and he tells me.'
Throughout the years, the Blakely Police Department has used money raised by the crime watch to pay for bullet-resistant shields, camera systems and radios for new patrol vehicles, and a new automated external defibrillator, Salerno said.
'That money has always helped the department,' he said.
Most notably, the department saved money from the crime watch for a few years in anticipation of starting a K-9 unit knowing the cost of buying the dog, training for the animal and his handler, and upfitting a police vehicle would be significant, Salerno said.
Gero officially joined the department in July with Senior Patrolman Brandon Walters as his handler.
This year, Salerno plans to use the money to continue sustaining the K-9 program. While Gero's food and veterinary care are donated, his training and certification cost about $2,000 to $2,500 annually, the chief said. He expects to use the Mardi Gras fundraising to support the K-9 program moving forward.
'I didn't have to ask for a raise in my budget to continue with a K-9 unit,' he said. 'That's wonderful. The donations that are given to us by the crime watch are amazing.'
Since adding Gero to the department last year, the German shepherd has 'made life a lot easier, especially with drug investigations,' Salerno said, explaining Blakely police no longer have to call in K-9s from other departments.
While they have not had to use Gero's tracking skills yet, Salerno noted the importance of the dog's ability to track people when the borough has multiple senior-care facilities within its borders.
Salerno emphasized his gratitude for the fundraising.
'Just a big thank you to all that supported the donations toward the cost of the Mardi Gras, the people that attend, I just want to personally thank all of them,' Salerno said. 'It truly makes the department, the officers, myself, know that we have community support.'
The crime watch has sold close to 400 tickets so far, and while the deadline for payments was supposed to be Wednesday, Acciare-Mariani said she will continue selling tickets to those who call her at 570-383-9946.
