Family, friends and agencies prepare to honor fallen NHP trooper

FALLON- A large contingent of Fallon and Churchill County residents will be on hand today for Fallon native and Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Kara Kelly-Borgognone's funeral at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno.

Services begin at 11 a.m.

Kelly-Borgognone was critically injured in an automobile accident Feb. 26 in Spanish Springs while responding to a bomb scare. She was kept alive for two days as doctors searched for suitable matches to transplant her organs.

Kelly-Borgognone, 33, was a 1992 Churchill County High School graduate and worked for Nevada Parole and Probation and the Churchill County Juvenile Probation Office for about nine years before becoming an officer for the NHP.

The Nevada Highway Patrol expects at least 3,500 people to attend the funeral and procession.

Chuck Allen, NHP public information officer, said representatives from law enforcement agencies from across the state and nation will attend, including officers from California, Idaho and Oregon. He added a few officers from as far away as Arkansas will be on hand as well for a simple reason.

"You feel as if you have lost a family member because of the brotherhood and sisterhood we share every day," Allen said.

Three NHP aircraft will fly over at the Lawlor Events Center at approximately 10:50 a.m., and a 21-gun salute will take place toward the conclusion of the service.

Churchill County Sheriff Rich Ingram said many officers from his department will attend the funeral, adding requests from officers asking for the day off to attend have been approved.

"We allow (the time off) for all the people who want to attend," the sheriff said. "It's just the way we do business when things like this happen."

There will be six deputies from the sheriff's office who will be part of the honor guard that will say its final goodbye to Kelly-Borgognone.

He added that at least two CCSO deputies will be involved in the procession, which starts at 10 a.m. from Walton's Funeral Home, 875 W. Second St., in Reno.

The Nevada Parole and Probation office in Reno has agreed to staff the Fallon office today so the employees who worked with her can pay their final respects to their former co-worker and friend.

Richardson said he is not sure if anyone from his office will be involved in the procession.

"I will attend the services with my wife," he said. "I know we have several parole and probation employees (in the state) along with the highway patrol involved in the procession."

Several teachers at Churchill County Junior High School, where Kara's mom, Jan, works, will attend the funeral, said Principal Kevin Lords.

"We have friends of the teacher who knew the family very well," Lords said. "We have teachers that taught Kara at school."