They help with planning an oper ation on pre- planned events, but if they are just responding to a scene, they help coordinate per imeter officer s, ar rest team, Bearcat placement, etc. All this in pur suit of keeping Evansville safe! It is all in addition to regular duties as a patrol ser geant where he works ever y day. A patrol ser geant super vises officer s under their command but are super ior s and can give command to any ?patrol officer ?/ detective r ank below them within the pur view of their assignment. Ser geants, like officer s, are assigned sector s in patrol which are par ts of the city. They are responsible for dispatched r uns and patrol in that area. Elfreich super vises these officer s directly and makes sure that not only are r uns being handled cor rectly but also that the officer s have guidance or help from him when needed. It is a great responsibility to be the fir st level super visor since most immediate needed answer s for patrol come from a ser geant. They work directly with them on the street and are the fir st step in making a command decision that a patrol officer needs direction. The other great responsibility is being a ser vant leader to the officer s working. Again, another aspect that cor relates
back to Mater Dei. Where attitude reflects leader ship and pr acticing what you preach is foremost? it?s impor tant here, too. Elfreich?s a humble cop and didn?t have any major ar rest stor ies to share, but from exper ience working here, I can say he?s one of the most respected cops on the depar tment. He mentioned to me when wr iting this, ?I have worked with some really great people over the year s and hope that in that time I have had some sor t of positive effect on the depar tment and community.? I can attest that he does just that. He?s the type of student you?d expect to come from Mater Dei and the type of cop that citizens hope to have working for them. When asked about Mater Dei?s influence he said, ?I have many fond memor ies from Mater Dei. From the teacher s and staff to my fellow classmates, all have influenced my life. My Catholic education taught me to always put God fir st and above all other things, to work hard, and to treat other s respectfully and in a way that I would want to be treated myself. I do my best to br ing these values to my per sonal as well as my work life.?
Leanne Happe Backpack Pr ogr am By Mallor y Her tel '07 Leanne Happe star ted a back- to- school backpack progr am a few year s ago at West Side Catholic to assist families at her beloved school and par ish. Says Pr incipal Kelsey (Mitsdar ffer) Meier ?06, ?The progr am star ted about 4 year s ago when Leanne inquired about what our students needed to help prepare for the upcoming year. She was always looking out for our students and finding ways to help their families ease the beginning of the year 's financial burden through donating lunch money or school supplies. It star ted to evolve as she asked her close fr iends and cafeter ia coworker s if they were interested in helping. Leanne had been a huge par t of our Chr istmas Angel Tree or ganizational team for year s and this was an extension of that progr am. She initially star ted donating independently but quickly shared the joy of giving with her fr iends and they soon became involved in shopping, donating funds, and putting together student backpacks.?
Jeff ?84 and Leanne Happe have two daughter s: Maddie Will ?17 and Betsy ?18. Leanne passed away in June of 2021 after a cour ageous battle with cancer. WCS
individual items. Money is also collected to purchase student supplies and pay student supply fees and band fees? If you are interested in suppor ting this progr am for the students and their families at West Side Catholic, you can contact Pr incipal Meier.
car r ies on the backpack progr am, leaving a lasting legacy of generosity and car ing for other s. ?To make sure our students are taken care of, a group of her fr iends and her daughter s all worked together last summer. Students in gr ades K- 8 and their families benefit from the generosity of the suppor ter s of this progr am. We share the school supply lists for each gr ade level and donor s are welcome to complete a whole student list or purchase
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Leanne, center, sur rounded by daughter s Maddie and Betsy as well as other close fr iends that have par ticipated in this initiative
