Battle of the Badges III will be Friday

| 08 Aug 2025 | 09:44

The New Jersey State Police’s Battle of the Badges III Charity Softball Game will be held Friday, Aug. 15 at Skylands Stadium, 94 Championship Place, Augusta.

There also will be a Touch-a-Truck, hosted by the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office.

The event will honor Sheriff’s Office supervisory public safety dispatcher Shannon Thonus, who died July 11 after a battle with cancer.

She is survived by her husband, Jim Thonus, a New Jersey state trooper and U.S. Marine, and their two daughters, ages 1 and 4.

Originally intended to raise funds to support Thonus’s treatment, Battle of the Badges III now will help support her children’s future.

The gates open at 3:30 p.m. and the charity game begins at 4 p.m.

At 6:30 p.m., there will be ceremonies, featuring a law enforcement honor guard, bagpipes and motorcycle units, before the Sussex County Miners game against the Down East Bird Dawgs.

A New Jersey State Police helicopter ball drop and ceremonial first pitch is planned at 7 p.m.