The Daily Star newspaper of Oneonta printed an editorial in today’s edition thanking the members of the New York State Police for their hard work and dedication to public safety. Today marks the 90^th anniversary of the New York State Police.

The State Troopers PBA is proud of the exceptional work our members complete each and every day, whether it’s helping a stranded motorist or tracking down a murderer. We appreciate the recognition given to our members by The Daily Star newspaper. Below is the text of the editorial.

4-11-2007

Thank you, state police

There are times when _ misguided souls that we are _ we would prefer not to see a member of the state police.

Virtually all of those times involve us going a tad too quickly on a state highway and seeing revolving colored lights in the rearview mirror.

Other than in that scenario, however, the New York State Police are assuredly a comforting and reassuring sight.

Because they put their lives on the line for us on a daily basis, and for so much more, we’re offering a grateful hanks to the state cops.

Today is the 90th anniversary of New York’s state police, who got their start due in large part to the efforts of two women.

According to the police website, in 1913, an attempted payroll robbery in then-rural Westchester County resulted in the murder of a construction foreman named Samuel Howell.

Howell’s killers got away, and local police apparently did little or nothing to solve the crime. That spurred Howell’s employer, Moyca Newell, and her friend Katherine Mayo to lobby the state Legislature to form an entity to provide adequate law enforcement in rural areas.

It took four years, but the women prevailed, and the legislation passed on April 11, 1917.

It started out as 237 men riding out on horseback from their training camp to patrol areas that had not known effective law enforcement.

Today, it would seem absurd not to be able to rely on the nearly 5,000 officers and more than 1,000 civilian administrators, specialists and support staff who serve us so well.

It’s easy to take all these folks for granted, but when there is an ice storm like the awful one that hit upstate in 1998, the state police were there.

It’s good to know the state police’s Child Abuse and Sexual Exploitation Unit is on the job, as well as knowing officers are using the latest technology to detect drunken or drug-using drivers.

Dealing with school violence, gun violence, cleaning up dangerous neighborhoods, fighting narcotics trafficking and violent crime are everyday occurrences for these men and women in uniform.

Sometimes, though, their service goes well beyond the everyday.

In 1985, it was the state police who busted a processing lab in the town of Minden that was capable of producing $250 million worth of cocaine. It was the largest coke processing plant ever uncovered in North America.

This was followed up by the discovery of cocaine labs in Sullivan County and in our own Otsego County connected to the Cali cartel in Colombia.

Some troopers have given their lives in serving and protecting communities. Locally, in 1994, off-duty Investigator Ricky J. Parisian of Oneonta was fatally shot while trying to stop a robbery at a local grocery store.

We should say "thank you" more often for everything that the men and women of the state police do, but today, on their 90th anniversary, it seems absolutely appropriate.

Thank you, and keep up the good work.