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Rockingham County And Other Sheriffs Announce Crowdfunding For Border Wall

In March, more than 300 sheriffs representing 40 states sent a letter to Congress asking members to take action on immigration reform. Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page and five other North Carolina sheriffs were among those who signed it. KERI BROWN/WFDD

The Rockingham County Sheriff is raising money to build a border wall on the U.S. - Mexico border. He's joined a group of other sheriffs across the country to create a crowdfunding site to collect donations.

The idea came from a meeting that took place at the White House this month. According to a press release, members of the National Sheriffs' Association met with both President Trump and Vice President Pence about immigration reform and border security.

Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page was among them. He says he's concerned about human trafficking and gang violence, but in particular, the influx of illegal drugs into the U.S.

“That's where we need to start. Shut the flow, slow the flow down," he says. "Then we can start working with our people here in our communities with their addictions toward how to help them.”

As of Thursday, The National Sheriffs' Association's crowdfunding website has raised $14,000 toward their $100,000 goal. It's a fraction of what the controversial border wall would cost. A recent report from the Government Accountability Office estimates it would be $18 billion to build.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news
 

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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