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Maritime communities use red ribbons to show support for RCMP

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CTV Atlantic: Red ribbons show support for RCMP Maritime communities are using red ribbons to pay their respects to the slain Mounties and show appreciations for other officers.

More than a week after shootings in Moncton left three RCMP officers dead, the outpouring of support towards the Mounties has shown no sign of letting up.

Many officers have been receiving small gestures of gratitude, but in some cases, entire towns are getting involved.

Phyllis Lefebvre has been decorating lamp posts in St. Stephen, N.B. with red ribbons to symbolize her support for the RCMP.

“I’ve been sitting ever since this tragedy happened and I was thinking, I want to do something, so Sunday morning I said, ‘I’m going to find some red ribbon,’” says Lefebvre.

Lefebvre has tied hundreds of red ribbons to posts, poles, and trees in St. Stephen. She has no personal connection to the RCMP but says her community, like so many others, is feeling a sense of loss.

“I know everyone has been deeply affected by it and when I was putting the ribbons out, the businesses, everyone was so responsive, supporting me, putting them in their windows, it felt really good.”

Community leaders say there is a new appreciation for the Mounties.

“We get wound up in the speeding tickets and the no seat belts, that’s part of their job as well, but at the end of the day, these people put their lives on the line for us,” says MLA Curtis Malloch.

There are modest tokens of appreciation outside virtually every RCMP detachment in the region, thanks to Maritimers who felt the need to do something after such a tragic event.

“Sometimes just the ribbons, or just a smile or a pat on the back, or a hug, you know, just the fact that everyone is sending love,” says resident Dana Planetta.

The Mounties say books of condolence will remain at headquarters and at most detachments around New Brunswick until Friday afternoon.