Five years ago this past Saturday Douglas Police Officer Ray Rios was chasing a suspect on foot through the streets of Douglas when he suffered a heart attack and died on the scene leaving behind a wife and four kids.
|
(Use arrows above to view more photos)
|
; document.getElementById('NewSysJSSlideShowPausePlayButton').src = '/art/slideshow/playbutton.gif'; newsys_slideshow_js_img_ss_playing=false; _designer_slideshow_chgImg(-1);)
; document.getElementById('NewSysJSSlideShowPausePlayButton').src = '/art/slideshow/playbutton.gif'; newsys_slideshow_js_img_ss_playing=false; _designer_slideshow_chgImg(1);)
Numerous fundraisers have been held since his passing as friends of Rios try to raise $50,000 to have the memorial built honoring all those in Cochise County who have died in the line of duty.
One of those fundraisers has been a softball tournament which was held for the second straight year this past weekend.
The event drew nine teams from Douglas and concluded Sunday with BFS, coached by Ed Noriega and Dave Raber winning the event for the second straight year beating the Bro’s 13-12 in the final.
Ray’s, a team made up in Rios’ honor, came in third.
The teams played a round robin pool play format on Saturday. Sunday was a single elimination tournament.
The teams in the tournament took a break from play Saturday night for a candlelight vigil in Ray’s memory.
Flickering candles lined the field at the Veteran’s Park Saturday as ball players and their families as well as family members from the Rios family reflected on the fallen officers passing.
Rios’ widow, Christy, said it’s hard to believe it’s been five years.
“People seem to think as time goes on it gets easier to cope,” she said. “It gets harder. - You miss him more; miss the daily things he used to do with the kids. They have a harder time now dealing with his death than we he first passed away.”
Rios said she was touched by the amount of support shown during the candle light vigil Saturday night.
“I was just overwhelmed by the love and support shown by the teams that all showed their respect,” she said. “It really meant a lot.”
Rios was hoping for 16 teams to take part in the tournament and had a few withdraw late in the week brining the total of teams playing down to nine.
“All in all it seems like everyone had fun,” she said. “They understand we’re trying to raise money for that memorial.”
Rios said the funds are just about a tenth of the way of what they need to raise.
A golf tournament fundraiser will take place this Sunday, Sept. 12 at the Turquoise Valley Golf Course in Bisbee.
Registration will start at 7 a.m. with the tee-time starting at 8:30 a.m.
There will also be a lunch and raffles throughout the event.
Entry fees are $60 per person.
Mixed gender teams are welcomed.
Anyone wanting more information on any of these events may contact Xavier Rios at 234-2305 or Christy Rios at 227-6065, Jose Duarte at 227-9405 or Trisha Maldonado at 236-7484.
Comments
A thanks wrote on Sep 18, 2010 4:18 PM:
hear hear wrote on Sep 13, 2010 5:28 PM:
Raul Garcia wrote on Sep 10, 2010 5:21 PM:
concerned citizen wrote on Sep 10, 2010 4:31 PM:
supporter wrote on Sep 8, 2010 9:56 PM:
Maybe other tournament holders will do the same. For example: The Olivas Tournament, Where does that money go to?
Maybe someone should look into that!!!! "
Jay Dee wrote on Sep 8, 2010 8:01 PM: