The 100-plus people in attendance at the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club's 12th annual Hometown Heroes event on September 12 were introduced to a new friend, Duke.

Duke, soon to be the newest member of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, is a 17-month-old German Shepherd being trained as a search and tracking dog for the department.

He was the star of the event as handlers Sergeant Alan Shea and Deputy Kevin Dennison brought him to the American Legion hall for a demonstration.

The dog was quite nervous with all the people in the room, so the demonstration was brief, but Shea and Dennison gave a brief history of the department's K-9 program and explained about the extensive training the dogs must go through to become certified.

“These dogs must go through over 400 hours of training, including learning hand and verbal signals. All of the training is based on obedience. If the dog fails the certification test, he or she either starts over or is not put through the training again,” Shea said. Shea explained that the dogs cost upwards of $7,000 each.

The Rotary Club recently donated $1,000 to the Sheriff's Office to purchase a bulletproof vest for the department's dogs. Fundraising continues through the Office's Heidi Fund to purchase new dogs as the older ones retire. Katherine Martin-Savage, who helped start the Heidi Fund, thanked the Rotary Club for its donation.

Club president Jennifer Page welcomed the many emergency responders and the families in attendance and thanked Rotarians Debbie and Daren Graves for continuing the Hometown Heroes event, which Rotarians Gloria and Bob Walter started following the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Representatives from the LCSO, Boothbay Harbor Police Department, area fire departments and Boothbay Region Ambulance Service (BRAS) were in attendance.

“We honor you for your bravery, courage and willingness to step up to protect us,” Page said.

Following the dinner of hamburgers and hot dogs, Daren and Debbie Graves handed out awards.

BRAS Director Robbie Ham presented Allan Hitt with a glass-encased clock for his 35-plus years as a member of the BRAS. Hitt joined the ambulance service in 1976, a year after its inception in 1975.

He retired from BRAS and Bath Iron Works in 2012 “and now spends most of his time in a boat fishing,” said Ham, who also recognized BRAS charter members Harry Pinkham and Arthur Richardson who were in attendance.

Ham also thanked the many family members of BRAS personnel in attendance.

“They (BRAS members) have missed a lot of dinners, sporting events and family functions and you deserve a lot of credit for allowing them to serve,” Ham said.

Recognition was also given to LCSO Major Ken Mason and Maureen Smith, Boothbay Harbor Police Department administrative assistant, for volunteering for the Club during its annual auction.

As the program closed, musicians Garry Blackman Sr. Mike Ferrucci, Tim Sprague and Bob Blackman continued entertaining the crowd.