 Michael Fruge of the Lincoln Police Department was named the
2012 Officer of the Year by Chief Ken Greenslate.Fire Chief Mark
Miller recognized retired Chief Rick O'Hare, Capt. Larry Spurling,
retired Assistant Chief Tom Martin and Capt. Chris Harding for their
humanitarian efforts.
The first presentation was for the police officer of the year.
Greenslate recounted to the council that his predecessor, Chief
Stuart Erlenbush, had began a process of cleaning out and doing away
with evidence from old case files. He said the process included an
audit of what was on hand and a determination of the proper and
legal way to dispose of evidence.
It was a task that was not even close to being finished when
Greenslate took over as chief. He laughed and told the council that
he sought volunteers to continue the work. None had come forth, so
he "volun-told" Fruge that he was in charge of the project.
Greenslate said there were thousands and thousands of pieces of
old evidence, some dating back to the 1970s, that had to be
destroyed. Greenslate said Fruge took to the job like a duck out of
water and over the past two years had properly disposed of over
15,000 pieces of evidence and got the evidence vault in order. He
told the council that in addition to himself, Fruge's fellow
officers had agreed that he should be the 2012 officer of the year.
Greenslate finished by reading the inscription on the plaque
before presenting it to Fruge: "You have demonstrated extraordinary
performance and dedication to duty while restructuring the police
department evidence vault. Your organizational skills made our
evidence process more efficient while protecting the integrity of
the evidence. Your diligence, professional attitude and strong work
ethic did not go unrecognized."
Greenslate said Fruge has also already been awarded the highest
honor from the Lincoln police: the Medal of Honor for his
involvement in the shooting incident involving Michael "Tattoo"
Knuth in the summer of 2009. Fruge was also honored by the Illinois
State Police for the same incident.
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Next up was Lincoln Fire Department Chief Mark Miller with
presentations of Humanitarian awards. Miller explained that some of
the honors were a little past due. He said two of the firefighters
being honored are now retired but were being remembered for their
service in 2005.
The awards were given based on the work they did during Hurricane
Katrina, Hurricane Gustav and the 2011 floods in southern Illinois.
Miller said that MABAS, the mutual aid program the city is a part
of, would be giving these men a special ribbon and medal to wear on
their uniforms.
First up was retired Chief Rick O'Hare, who in 2005 went to
Louisiana during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Also
accompanying O'Hare on that trip and being recognized Monday night
was Capt. Larry Spurling.
The next person to be recognized was retired Assistant Chief Tom
Martin, who was involved in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.
Accompanying Martin on that trip were Darren Coffey and Andy Dexter.
Miller told the council that at the time, Dexter was with the
Lincoln Rural department, but is now with the city. Coffey and
Dexter were unable to be present for the presentation.
Finally, Miller called forward Capt. Chris Harding, who in 2011
went to southern Illinois to assist with the flooding situation
there.
All four men were given certificates of appreciation and medals.
[By NILA SMITH]
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