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On Sunday afternoon, as part of the annual Gold Star…

On Sunday afternoon, as part of the annual Gold Star Mother's & Family's Day Ceremony held at Harts Hill Inn in Whitesboro, Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol introduced K9 handler Sergeant Michael Baker along with his partner, K9 Blaise. Blaise is one of the newest K9's at the Sheriff's Office that was funded with a grant through the NYS Office of Homeland Security and is a certified explosive detection dog. In addition to his patrol responsibilities, Blaise will be used to inspect and sweep for explosive devices ahead of large public gatherings, at stadiums, and near critical infrastructure along with responding to any types of bomb threats.
The Gold Star Families Day ceremony was chosen to introduce K9 Blaise, as he is named in honor of Marine Lance Cpl. Blaise A. Oleski, age 22 of Holland Patent who was killed in action on April 8th, 2009 during combat operations in Afghanistan. The parents of Lance Cpl. Oleski, Paul and Theresa Oleski were in attendance at yesterday's ceremony when K9 Blaise was introduced to the public.
Gold Star Mother's and Family's Day is observed nationwide annually on the last Sunday of September to honor families of military service members who lost their lives in the line of duty. Yesterday's ceremony in Whitesboro was sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 944 of Utica, NY.