Memorial to be dedicated for fallen deputy sheriff

The Essex County Sheriff’s office is planning a special dedication of a memorial to the late Deputy Sheriff Ruby Rainault who was killed in a motor vehicle crash 10 years ago while on patrol conducting Occupant Protection Safety checks. ‘
Marking the first day of the Governor’s Highway Safety Thanksgiving Holiday Campaign Safety Program on Wednesday, November 27, Sheriff Trevor Colby said it is appropriate to pay tribute to Rainault, who was the first Vermont female law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty. A special memorial sign has been erected in her memory on Route 2 in Lunenburg at the site of the crash that took Rainault’s life. ‘
Sheriff Colby said his deputies will also mark the seat belt campaign by conducting checkpoints to ensure drivers and their passengers are buckled up. ‘I hope all Vermonters will recognize the importance of seat belts in protecting themselves, their families and friends when they are traveling our roadways,’ Sheriff Colby said.’
Sheriff Colby paid tribute to Deputy Sheriff Rainault by describing her as a personification of dedication to law enforcement duty with a deep passion for occupant protection. She joined the Essex County Sheriff’s Department in 1997. She and her husband, Gil, who has been a deputy sheriff since 1993, had adopted six children, and according to Sheriff Colby, was tireless in her efforts to help children and promote occupant protection. ‘
The Vermont Governor’s Highway Safety Program created a special award, The Governor Highway Safety Occupant Protection Award, in her name which is given annually to a law enforcement officer who best emulates Rainault’s willingness ‘to do what it takes to help.’’
This is the sign that will be placed on Route 2 in Lunenburg:’