Ser vice to Other s
Look for the Helper s By Matt Kar ges '06 EDI TOR?S NOTE: This is the second part of the series about Mater Dei graduates who have gone on to become first responders. This spotlight is to show not only their efforts in serving the public, but also to give the MD family an idea of what first responder jobs entail and the importance of them as well.- Matt Karges ?06/ Evansville Police Sergeant
For many in the Mater Dei community, finding a ser vant?s hear t and being a ser vant leader is not often too difficult to locate or become. For decades, our faith- based school has asked students and families alike to ?do unto other s as you would have them do unto you? and live by the motto ?Go For th to Ser ve? after gr aduation. This philosophy has set the tone for gener ations to not only lear n at Mater Dei but to ser ve other s thereafter. Keeping these values in mind, I?d like to remind people what Mr. Roger s (a TV host of an old children?s show for those that aren?t old enough to know) said about times of cr isis. He said, ?look for the helper s?- which was something his mother told him when he was younger. Shedding light on something positive in a bad situation and acknowledging those willing to help in times of distress. It doesn?t take away from what the tr agedy may have been but focuses on what can be done to help and those that are willing to do it. These same people are the ones that makeup Mater Dei?s community- as are the gr aduates as well. In living like Jesus, ever yone from Mater Dei str ives to ser ve other s in all aspects of our lives. For us all, it?s a responsibility, but for some, it is also a ?duty.? A duty to not only spir itually, but physically represent one?s self as a public ser vant by donning a unifor m or badge to represent all. A fir st responder holds an impor tant role in safeguarding the foundations of society. People who choose to stand for the idea of ?good? and something much greater than themselves ultimately chooses to ser ve other s. No matter what er a we live in, it?s a Godly profession and
noble, to say the least. Mater Dei has helped mold many of these ser vants enter ing the community. As St. Michael the Archangel leads God?s ar my of angels, fir st responder s who sacr ifice for all can lead in ser vice before themselves as well I?ve compiled a group of more MD gr ads as follows who?ve shared their stor ies. Mike Bishop '97 Some may know Mike Bishop from school in the ?90s (1997 MD gr ad), as a West Side Nut Club member, or more presently from helping teach educational narcotics classes to Mr. Jewell?s senior s. He is is a Vanderbur gh County Sher iff?s Office Ser geant Deputy. Deputies are an extension of the elected Sher iff of said county and pr imar ily patrol the non- city areas of the county. Having the same ar rest power s state- wide as most police agencies do, they still pr imar ily patrol and respond to r uns outside the city limits. The city has designated its own police force for enforcement of the law and public safety. That said, the need for such a presence remains in the county as well where citizens can expect to see a deputy when needing help. The Sher iff?s Office is also constitutionally required to maintain secur ity for the cour ts, act as officer s of the cour ts, and manage the county jail. This requires deputies to also per for m these functions for the Sher iff and are an integr al par t of their ser vice as well. Illegal narcotics can be seen as the root of most evil from many points of view and another integr al par t of the Sher iff?s Office is the er adication of such. Bishop spent at least eight year s of his career in the Joint Task Force (JTF) which is where the narcotics unit of the Sher iff?s Office works ?jointly? with the Evansville Police depar tment?s unit and member s of the Prosecutor ?s Office. They share office
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space and work cases together, combining their effor ts and effect on combating the dr ug problem in Vanderbur gh/Evansville. Assigned to the JTF, Bishop was also a narcotics K9 handler. He worked with a yellow Labr ador named Hunter where their focus was to suppor t detectives in locating illegal dr ugs. The K9 is tr ained to sniff out the dr ugs exposing the cr ime or recover ing evidence for detectives. Bishop and K9 Hunter were responsible for helping locate hundreds of dr ugs and illegal meth labs throughout the county. This exper ience was the highlight of Bishop?s career so far ; enjoying doing school presentations with Hunter and helping teach D.A.R.E. progr ams, too. He believes a lot of the hard work was instilled from Mater Dei saying, ?If you don?t work hard you will not succeed at the level the duty requires?. K9 handler s go through weeks of tr aining and must become proficient enough to be cer tified in their tr aining skills. This keeps the team professional but also credentialed in their locating aspects that can be upheld in cour t. After Bishop?s par tner Hunter retired, he tested for ser geant which is a super visor r ank above deputy. Testing for r ank requires a lot of studying (reading assigned books and depar tment procedures) and an inter view assessment as well. If you score well enough, you may later get promoted and Bishop accomplished just that. He made ser geant and over saw the deputies in JTF for a couple of year s until retur ning to road patrol as a super visor where he can be found today. Becoming a super visor is an impor tant position and task not all attain. Mater Dei has always had a higher standard in education per for mance and of strong discipline in athletics as well. With this, Bishop feels MD definitely helped prepare him for this stage in his career- long before he knew it. cont.
