Ocean Ridge Detective Aaron Choban, Police Chief Richard Jones, Hendry County Sheriff Steve Whidden, Clewiston Chief Thomas Lewis and Ocean Ridge Sgt. Richard Ermeri. BELOW RIGHT: The truck was loaded with donations. Photos provided
By Joe Capozzi
A Hendry County sheriff’s deputy who lost her home and car during Hurricane Ian received a trailer-load of supplies and $3,600 in cash from donations by residents of Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes.
Ocean Ridge Police Chief Richard Jones delivered the supplies on Oct. 26 to the Clewiston Police Department, where Hendry County deputies distributed the items later that day to the deputy, a mother of four children who lives in Fort Myers.
Ocean Ridge police started collecting the donations at Town Hall a week after the hurricane, with initial plans to send them to a small law enforcement agency in or near Lee County affected by Ian.
Unable to find an agency, Jones said, he saw a post on the Clewiston Police Department’s Facebook page about Hendry County Sheriff’s Deputy Maria Aguirre, a Fort Myers resident who lost four dogs, her vehicle and everything in her home in the storm.
The social media post sought donations for Aguirre, her husband and their four children: two teenage boys, a teenage daughter and a 9-year-old son.
Jones, who worked as a Hendry County sheriff’s deputy and a Clewiston police officer before coming to Ocean Ridge, decided to donate the supplies to Aguirre.
Jones shared Aguirre’s story at the Oct. 27 Briny Breezes Town Council meeting to show “how our positive impacts can go obviously much further than the boundaries we are used to working in,’’ he said.
“None of us knew this deputy or her family. It truly was us being able to help someone that none of us knew.’’
Clewiston Police Chief Thomas Lewis, in an interview with The Coastal Star, thanked Jones and the residents of Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes for their generosity. “There was a ton of stuff in that trailer,” he said.
The Clewiston Police Department posted a photo of Jones and supplies on the agency’s Facebook page with the following caption:
“Want to know what a brotherhood/sisterhood looks like? Chief Richard Jones and the members of the Ocean Ridge Police Department saw a post on Facebook about a Hendry County Deputy that was severely impacted by Hurricane Ian.
“Although they never met the deputy before, members of his agency didn’t hesitate to raise $3,600.00 and additional donations that filled a small trailer. Our town is small, but our law enforcement family is large. Thank you to the Ocean Ridge Police!’’
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