Huge turnout for Fuller 155 basket raffle/walk to benefit suicide prevention
Photos by Tom Rivers
SHELBY – The fourth annual Fuller 155 Suicide Awareness Basket Raffle saw its biggest turnout yet on Sunday with people supporting suicide awareness and prevention in memory of the late Erin Fuller.
A former deputy with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, Fuller was 45 when he died by suicide on Sept. 12, 2015.
His family, friends and many others in the community put on the benefit which included 239 baskets, gift cards and other items up for raffle at the Shelby Fire Company Rec Hall.
The event also included a 5K walk/run for the first time.
Some of the volunteers who worked on the fundraiser include, front row, from left: Anita Hughes, Pam Canham, Joette Oberther, Savanna Watts and Nancy Bracey.
Back row: Jason Watts, Ike Watts, Debbie Fuller, Sydney Watts, Tammy Fearby, Sheriff Chris Bourke and Chief Deputy Jim DeFilipps.
Ike Watts is Erin Fuller’s cousin. She has taken the lead in the organizing the local event the past four years. Before that she led a team in an “Out of the Darkness” walk in Buffalo about suicide prevention and awareness.
She wanted a local event to bring the community together about the issue, which afflicts many families.
Watts said she appreciates the strong turnout from the community, and the numerous donations from people and businesses in Orleans, Genesee, Niagara, Erie and Monroe counties.
“I know there is so much support in the community,” Watts said.
Proceeds from the previous two benefits, $15,600 total, were given to the Orleans County Suicide Prevention Coalition. That group is planning an “Out of the Darkness” walk at 11 a.m. on Oct. 10 at Bullard Park in Albion. Registration starts at 10 a.m.
The group also is part of a Men’s Day Out Pre-Tailgate Party from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 25 at the Orleans County YMCA in Medina.
Ike Watts said the proceeds from Sunday’s event may instead go to a non-profit organization thought he Shelby Volunteer Fire Company with the proceeds focusing on first responders. The money could fund Critical Incident Stress Management training, covering debriefings for first responders after difficult response calls. The money could cover mental health counseling as well.
She is grateful the benefit will provide funded to help people receive care if needed. The event also raised awareness of the mental health toll on first responders, who see many critical incidents.
Representatives from OpOverwatch in Lockport also attended the Fuller 155 event. Jake Reeves, an Orleans County Sheriff’s deputy, chats with Wade Boyer from the organization that seeks to help law enforcement officers and other first responders with post-traumatic stress.
OpOverwatch is a ministry that serves law enforcement officers, correction officers, dispatchers, military personnel, firefighters and EMS personnel.
“We help first responders with the trauma you see on a daily basis,” Boyer said. “First responders are exposed to hundreds to thousands of incidents.”
Provided photo: The event for the first time included a 5K walk/run. The 5K was organized by Debbie Fuller.




























HOLLEY – On a Friday afternoon, September 24, 1926, a fast moving east-bound freight train crashed head-on into a switch-engine on the Falls branch of the New York Central Railroad a short distance east of Holley.









