All Lives Matter rally attracts nearly 400

Hazy, smoky and partly cloudy skies did not appear to dampen the spirits of the more than 300 attendees at the first-of-its-kind “All Lives Matter” rally at the Nye County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday morning..

The event was billed as a way of showing support to local law enforcement officers and the community at large.

Two Rosemary Clarke Middle School students, Jacob Lopez and Andrew Avena, organized the rally.

Though their goal of assembling upward of 1,000 attendees fell short, both were still pleased with the community coming together.

“It was a good turnout today and I thought we were very successful in getting a lot of people out here to support the police,” Jacob said after the rally. “We did not reach our target go but we did reach a goal.”

Andrew noted he was also pleased that the event was a positive show of support.

“We are very glad that nobody negative showed up here today,” he said. “We wanted all positive people and that’s exactly what we got and we’re really happy for that.”

The boys’ mother, Stephanie Lopez, said though the boys did not reach their goal, she was equally appreciative for both the turnout and the way attendees conducted themselves during the half-hour-long gesture.

“It was a real good turnout today and they came very close to reaching their goal,” she said. “Everyone who showed up was super positive and everyone was very loving and supportive of not just the police, but each other. I thought it was amazing.”

Many attendees at the event recently heard about the rally and wanted to witness firsthand, the wide show of support.

Resident Kenny James said he read about the event in the newspaper.

“I thought it was a great idea and that’s why I wanted to come down and support the boys and our police force,” he said. “Some of the bad ones get into trouble every once in awhile, but overall, we need the police and they do a great job and that’s why I came here to support them. It was a great turnout here today.”

Resident Cles Saunders said he’d rather not think about how society would be without law enforcement patrolling the community.

“Can you think of the chaos we would be facing if they were not here protecting and serving?” he questioned. “I thought it was my civic duty to come out and support them. I have been doing this all my life, which is supporting our brave police officers. That’s why I’m here today.”

Marjorie Schaus, an eight-year resident said she decided to come out and join her husband in the rally.

“What impressed me the most was the big circle that the people formed while holding hands,” she said. “That was very impressive to me. There are bad people everywhere and the police have to deal with them the best way they can.”

County Commissioner Dan Schinhofen was one of several county officials who attended the rally.

“I thought it was great and as I pulled up here, I was hoping they were going to have a decent crowd out here and it was a decent crowd,” he said. “There was more than three hundred people here today from what I am hearing. I’m happy to see my fellow commissioners, Butch Borasky and Frank Carbone here. I saw our County Recorder, Deborah Beatty here. We are all part of the same community and we need to support our officers. In this community, I don’t think that has ever been an issue.”

During the rally, Tammy McGill, an employee at the Nye County Assessor’s Office, invited attendees to sign their names on a large blue paper banner that was set up on a table in front of the courthouse.

The banner will eventually grace a wall inside the sheriff’s office.

McGill also handed out index cards where local residents can write brief notes of support to communities around the country where law enforcement officers have been the target of violence in recent weeks.

“We allowed people to sign the cards and send condolences to the fallen officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the fallen officers recently in San Diego,” she said. “It’s just to let them know that our community is supporting their community and thinking about them. The box is very full so we got a really good response from the people who turned out here today. The cards will be mailed off on Monday. We did this recently for the Dallas Police Department and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit.”

McGill also said Saturday’s turnout was even better than she expected.

“I was very impressed with how many showed up here today,” she said. “We have a large sheet of paper and the two boys who set this all up wanted everybody and anybody to sign it and it will be displayed in the sheriff’s office in support of our local law enforcement officers.”

Nye County Sheriff’s Sgt. David Boruchowitz called the event phenomenal.

He and numerous other officers were on hand in uniform where they took part in the rally by greeting and holding the hands of local residents.

“At the very end I counted roughly 360 people,” he said. “It was phenomenal, especially if you consider it’s a Saturday morning and it was inspired by two teenagers here in town. Sheriff Wehrly has made a firm commitment that we are part of the community and likewise, the community is part of us. Many of our officers here are off-duty but they decided to come in on their day off to support this wonderful event. It was just phenomenal.”

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes