Dancing cop to help fill boot

BURRILLVILLE – Tony “The Dancing Cop” Lepore will be on hand this weekend to help the Nasonville Fire District try to beat its record in the annual MDABoot Drive.

“We did quite well last year for a tiny fire district – sixth in the state with $9,600,” said Firefighter/EMP Richard Hartley. “This year $15,000 is our goal.”

Firefighters will be asking motorists passing through the junction of Route 102 and Inman Road to fill the boot starting Friday afternoon at 3. The drive continues Saturday and Sunday from 9-7 p.m.

Tony the Dancing Cop, a Pawtucket resident and retired Providence policeman, will join Nasonville firefighters on Saturday from 4-7 p.m. Known for his breakdance-like trafficdirecting routines, Lepore has been featured on national television.

The MDA Boot Drive is sponsored by the Local 49681 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, according to Hartley. This is the third year in a row the organization has sponsored the fundraising for the nation’s leading fundraiser for research in muscular dystrophy, an inherited condition generally characterized by weakness and degeneration of muscle tissue.

Because Local 49681 is so serious about beating last year’s donations mark, Hartley said the union decided to bring in Lepore to try to beef up traffic passing through the area.