EDMESTON – A local motorcycle group is helping to honor a fallen soldier, and through the August event, they hope to raise enough money to create a scholarship fund at the Edmeston Central School.

On Saturday, Aug. 15, the Sherburne Wheelers will help honor Corporal Michael Mayne, an Edmeston native who was killed on Feb. 23 while serving in Iraq. The ride will take approximately three hours to complete, beginning in Burlington Flats and winding through the country roads to end at Gilligan’s Island in Sherburne, before retracing the route back to Burlington Flats.

According to Sherburne Wheelers President Lex Danyluk, the ride came about when the group was contacted by Alicia Bowen, the business manager at Edmeston Central School District. Bowen explained that she wanted to do something to honor Mayne, and since he had been an avid rider, she thought a memorial ride would be a good way to honor his memory.

“I think we’ll see about 100 bikes,” Danyluk said. Danyluk, and his wife Donna, explained that while only about a dozen bikers have registered for the event so far, the majority generally register as the date approaches. On the day of Mayne’s memorial service, Lex and Donna Danyluk were among approximately 96 other bikes that took part in a processional for the 2006 Edmeston graduate.