Float in Eldred Township's Halloween Parade was in honor of fallen hero, State Trooper Joshua Miller
Colin and Terri Dorshimer of Dotter's Corner, has several Pennsylvania State Police friends. Some of those friends worked with and knew Trooper Joshua Miller of the Swiftwater barracks. Their lives were greatly affected by the loss of their comrade in the line of duty. Trooper Miller was shot and killed while attempting to apprehend a kidnapping suspect on June 7, 2009 in Monroe County. He left behind a wife and three children.
Colin and Terri says that the stories their friends told of the fallen hero made them sad and hit home.His friends told us that he was the kind of trooper that went beyond his duties to protect the citizens and that he truly loved his job. The stories made me cry," says Terri.The Dorshimer family wanted to do something to show their appreciation for his sacrifice and came up with their float idea for the Eldred Township Halloween Parade.Colin is a ProArena/ProStadium driver with his modified tough truck. Thanks to their friends and owners of a tractor trailer, Martin, Tina and Zach Mallech, they mounted Colin's truck on it and built a float around it. Those who helped and participated in the parade were Colin and Terri, their daughter Jamie, Sam Kish, Travis Lowe, Jamie Miller and Ernie Frantz, who was the DJ for the music that played.When the float arrived in front of Amy's Country Store, it stopped and Colin revved the truck to the delight of everyone around and then they released 200 black, orange and purple balloons into the air in honor of Trooper Miller. It made a spectacular sight.Two troopers, Jones and Gross, from the Lehighton barracks followed the float in the parade in their patrol cars.The float won second place in the Float category. The Dorshimers donated the $35 cash prize to Trooper Miller's family. Trooper Jones and Corporal Gross accepted the donation on behalf of Miller's family.Corporal Gross thanked the entire parade committee and the members of the float for the thoughtfulness in memory of Trooper Miller.