EDGEWOOD, Md. — Few could forget the sense of loss on February 10th of 2016 when a call to check out a suspicious man at the Panera Bread in Abingdon ended with the shooting deaths of Senior Deputy Patrick Daily and Deputy First Class Mark Logsdon.
Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler says he’s reminded of it every day.
“I have worn a band on my wrist for the last ten years that says ‘Harford Strong’ and has Pat and Marks’ I.D. numbers on it,” said the sheriff displaying the band.
Blood drive marks 10th anniversary of deaths in Harford County
And on Tuesday, those who forever suffer from the loss of their loved ones have mustered the strength to organize an event that will help to save lives in their honor.
“The families got together and they wanted to do the annual blood drive in memory of Pat and Mark so this will be, I believe, the tenth one,” said Gahler.
The blood drive at the American Legion Post 17 on Edgewood Road comes on the heels of the harsh Arctic blast that struck half of the country a few weeks ago, and its impact is still being felt today.
“Because of the winter weather, we have a severe blood shortage,” said Scott Marder of the American Red Cross, “The blood supply right now is down 35 percent. With the severe weather that we’ve had, we are down about 20 thousand units of blood nationally that could not get collected when people could not get to blood donation centers or blood drives.”
The blood drive is scheduled to run from noon to six on Tuesday, and the community response to it has been remarkable.
“Nearly all the appointments are full so that’s a great turn out,” added Gahler.
It represents a gift of life after 800 blood drives had to be canceled throughout the country, as people in Harford County give back to their community in memory of two men who gave their all.
