New Hartford Water Tower Named In Honor Of Officer Joe Corr

The newly constructed water tower on Snowden Hill Road in New Hartford was officially dedicated Thursday in honor of one of our local fallen heroes.

A ribbon cutting was held Thursday afternoon to mark the opening of the water tower, but also to dedicate it to a fallen New Hartford Police Officer. Officer Joseph Corr was a 6 year veteran of the New Hartford Police Department. On the night of February 27th, 2006 Corr was one of several officers responding to a robbery that took place at Lennon's W.B. Wilcox on Commercial Drive in New Hartford.

During the pursuit a suspect shot and killed Officer Corr in the line of duty. Eventually, after a long search, the man who killed him was convicted of murder and other charges and was sentenced to 300 years in prison. The community here will always remember Officer Corr and in May of 2008 State Route 840 was renamed the Officer Joseph D. Corr Memorial Highway.

Thursday at the dedication of the new water tower, The Mohawk Valley Water Authority took the occasion to name the tower in honor of Officer Corr. The new tower is 1.2 million gallons and will provide domestic and fire prevention water to the higher elevations of South Utica, residents of New Hartford and some areas of Frankfort. The tank is 50 feet tall and 64 feet in diameter.

The Water Authority says the tank has a service life of 75 years and will support future Regional Water System growth. The tank is the 9th new water storage tank constructed by the MVWA under their Capital Improvement Program.