By Mary O’KEEFE

Fundraising efforts for the Crescenta Valley Sheriff Memorial will officially kickoff on Friday morning, Oct. 1 at 9 a.m. at the station, 4554 Briggs Ave.
The memorial will be installed in the grassy area of the station’s parking lot entrance. It will be dedicated to two CV Sheriff deputies who died in the line of duty.
In December of 1957 Deputy David Horr with partner Charles Manuel responded to a call at 9:46 p.m. on Dec. 7 to a disturbance call at a La Crescenta Avenue residence. California Highway Patrol Officers Robert E. Anderson and Don R. West arrived at the scene with the deputies.
According to reports at the time, they knew someone was in the house but no one responded to their knocks. One officer went to the rear of the home and the other three went to the back door. Anderson began knocking on the glass pane of the window, Horr as stood at his side. Three shotgun blasts came, hitting Horr in the stomach and hand. The force of the blasts threw him several feet. The other officers were not hit; they carried Horr to the front yard and called for help.  Although wounded Horr reportedly told the officers to call an ambulance and then to take care of themselves. He fought two months and two days for life undergoing four major surgeries and being given numerous blood transfusions, but in the end he lost his battle.
Horr was a La Crescenta resident and was married with three sons.
Deputy Charles D. Rea died on Jan. 26, 1969. He is the only member of the Montrose Search and Rescue team to have died during performance of the duty.
Rea was responding with other Montrose Search and Rescue members on a call in the Big Tujunga area. According to U.S. Forest Service records, 4,430,000 cubic yards of debris accumulated behind the Big Tujunga dam during those January rainstorms.
Rea attempted to cross the flooded Big Tujunga Canyon to rescue people who were trapped.  He lost his footing and fell under the rapids. Team members attempted to save him but because of the terrain and the flooding were unable to reach him and he drowned. He was 35 years old and had served with the agency for 11 months.
“We have been wanting to
do this [memorial] for a while
and have raised some money,” said Steve Pierce, one of the volunteers who is raising the funds.
Community members formed a memorial group and began the process of designing and developing the memorial.
“Rich Toyon came up with five [designs]. We took them to the CV Sheriff’s Support Group and Capt. Dave Silversparre for approval,” Pierce said.
After several meetings there is now an approved design and volunteers are ready to begin fundraising in earnest.
Don Sutton, one of Horr’s sons, has been a long time
supporter for a memorial.  When he heard the news that
the project was moving
forward he was thrilled, Pierce said.
“Right now we are just getting the word out about the memorial,” said Capt. Dave Silversparre.
The memorial will be privately funded through the community. Pierce knows that may be difficult but is confident that the community will come to honor those fallen deputies.
Silversparre said the memorial is important not only to honor those who have fallen but to those who now serve.
“We want to honor those who lost their lives and to remind the current staff to be safe. I am honored to be part of this effort,” Silversparre said.
Donations to the memorial can be made through the CV Sheriff’s Support Group. In the memo portion of the check note the donation is for the Sheriff’s Memorial fund.  Mail donations to CV Sheriff’s Support Group, P.O. Box 12458, La Crescenta, CA 91214.