L A P O R T E C I T I Z E N ' S P O L I C E AC AD E M Y AL U M N I AS S O C I AT I O N
Citizens
In Action!
MAY 2013
Reclaiming History
On April 6 a large group of LPCPAAA Volunteers ascended upon the grounds of
the Cedarhurst Cemetery along with other organizations such as the Masonic
Lodge, Rotary Club, Lions Club and private citizens to help reclaim this historic,
yet forgotten site. Most of these folks worked all day to help sweep away brush,
pull limbs, cut trees and clear debris around gravesites to make them identifiable
again.
History buffs, genealogy enthusiasts, and those who respect the past, saw this as
an opportunity to so show respect to some 43 of the first residents of La Porte.
Others may have come to honor the few that served in the military. In any case,
each volunteer saw a need to help preserve the past of La Porte and we are
grateful to each of them for their efforts.
Many of you may not be aware there was even a historic cemetery in this area.
Years of overgrowth and later, progress in the way of a water treatment plant, has
made the area virtually unrecognizable. The efforts of close to 70 volunteers who
chose to give up their Saturday has changed all that.
Source of the following information:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~dbcompton/cemeteries/cedarhurstcemetery
HISTORY: The City of La Porte was incorporated in 1892. In the early years,
there was no public cemetery, but in 1896, plans were set in motion to establish
one. That said, it was still several years before the first burial took place. In the
La Porte Chronicle obituaries of the period, the cemetery didn't seem to have a
name. Obituaries referred to the cemetery as "the new cemetery" or "the new
cemetery southwest of town" when describing internments.
About 1901, the Cedarhurst Cemetery was upgraded and the Cedarhurst
Cemetery Association was formed shortly afterwards, followed by grand plans
for improvements published in the La Porte Chronicle. Much work was done to
expand and beautify the existing cemetery. However, the Cedarhurst plots were
apparently too expensive for many in La Porte. In 1907, a new public cemetery
was established, the La Porte Cemetery, just across Little Cedar Bayou from
Cedarhurst. This cemetery was created for public burials under the condition that
one-fourth of the cemetery was designated for Catholic burials.
Photos on page 2
What's Inside....
Cedarhurst Cemetery............2
Important Reminders............2
LE Appreciation............... .... 4
Stewart Bio..............................5
Mark your calendar and
Volunteer as a member of the Barricade
Team for the upcoming Annual La Porte
Sylvan Beach Triathlon/Duathlon to be
held on Sunday, June 9, starting at 7 am
at the Sylvan Beach Park, One Sylvan
Beach Drive, La Porte. Volunteers will
be needed from approximately 6am11am. To confirm your participation,
leave a message at 281.842.3149 or
email Deb Hathorn at
d2hathorn@att.net
LPPD offer Rape Aggression
Defense Course Offered
Another Rape Aggression Defense
(RAD)training course is being offered
this month. RAD System is a program
of realistic, self-defense tactics and
techniques which begins with
awareness, prevention, risk reduction,
and avoidance, while progressing
toward the basics of actual hands-on
defense training. Four, 3-hour, days of
RAD coursework are scheduled for two
weeks in a row, on May15th, 16th, 22nd,
& 23rd, from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m., with each
daily class building on the former. The
course days are intentionally spread out,
as the program is both physically and
mentally intensive. The RAD training is
open solely to women ages 13 and up;
younger ladies under the age of 18 must
attend class with their mother or legal
female guardian.
The 4-Day program is free and all
manuals and documents will be
provided to the students. For more
information on the RAD program,
including registration information,
please contact La Porte Officer Matt
Parsons at 281-604-6787, or via email
at: parsonsm@laportetx.gov.
Cedarhurst Cemetery, cont.
IIM
MPPO
ORRTTAAN
NTT
RREEM
MIIN
ND
DEERRSS
The newspaper will be on
vacation until August, at which time we
will resume regular publication.
Advanced CPA class May 14th - July 9th
Basic CPA class August 6th - October 29th
Encourage your family, friends and
neighbors to complete an application for the
Basic course.
To register and complete an application for
the Basic La Porte Citizen's Police
Academy, please contact Officer Jeff Tippit
at 281.842.3183
The Annual Volunteer
Picnic will be held at Seabreeze Park in La
Porte on Saturday, June 8th. Complete
details to be announced at the June meeting.
LPCPAAA will host the
Region One meeting on August 10, 2013 in
the LPPD Training Center and is also
confirmed to hold the August 9, 2014
meeting.
BEFORE & AFTER
Volunteer of the
Q u a r te r
M a k i n g A D i f fe re n c e
Volunteers,
Thank You for All Your Hard Work!
Without dedicated people like you, what we do would not be possible.
Your contributions, no matter how small or how large, are appreciated!
Thank You for Volunteering!!
VOLUNTEER HOURS
YTD: 1359.45
Richard Browder
was voted the Volunteer of the Quarter
award for 2013! As well as taking on the
responsibility of President of the Alumni,
Richard can be found at almost every
volunteer event. He arrives and departs
each event with a smile and a strong
willingness to help others. Recently,
Richard was instrumental in ordering
Alumni wristbands to promote our
association. We are proud to honor him as
our V1Q'13!
Volunteers In Action
April: 391.00
Includes COP Time YTD: 135.00 March: 56.5
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"Fido" Dog House Donations
YTD: $356.96
April: $21.00
Donations are collected monthly from strategically placed donation boxes
at various business across town. Donations benefit the LP Animal
Control Center and help with the care and adoption of rescued animals.
If you know of a business that would be willing to permit a box at their
establishment, please contact Rusty at RustyPaulus@yahoo.com
On April 25th, Nettie Warren and Doug &
Deb Hathorn attended an Active Shooter
Program hosted by the Bay CERT and
learned skills and techniques to survive an
active shooter and report it was very
helpful.
On April 27, prior to the Sylvan Beach
Festival being shut down early due to
inclement weather, a host of barricade
volunteers scattered along S. Broadway
helping divert traffic for the parade. One
of our volunteers and an Explorer suited
up as Wally Wise and Sparky, riding on
the LEPC float and yet others were busy
setting up the LPCPAAA booth inside the
festival. Pulling double duty, many that
helped with the parade tossed their vests
and headed to the booth to help draw folks
in and explain what the CPA and
LPCPAAA is all about.
On May 1, several volunteers showed up
at the LPHS parking lot to help Officer
Jeff Tippit set up and administer the
Shattered Dreams program.
Three senior ladies were sitting around a table. The first says, "I'm getting
so forgetful I was standing at the top of the stairs and I couldn't remember
whether I was going down or had just come up."
The second lady says, "You think that's bad? The other day I was sitting
on my bed and I couldn't remember whether I was going to sleep or
getting up."
The third lady smiles smugly. "Well, I have no memory problems at all,
knock on wood," to which she raps the table.
"Who's there?"
*******
In response to the observation that volunteers are too often seen as
amateurs: "Just remember: Noah's Ark was built by amateurs. The Titanic
was built by professionals."
National Police Week
Celebrating Hero's Who Serve La Porte!
Each May since 1962, when
President John F. Kennedy signed
a proclamation which designated
May 15th as Peace Officer's
Memorial Day (which also falls
during National Police Week), the
U.S. has recognized the service
and sacrifice of U.S. law
enforcement and paid tribute to
those who have lost their lives in
the line of duty.
A candlelight vigil is held at the
National Law Enforcement
Officers Memorial in Washington,
DC in honor of the law
enforcement officers who have
died that year. The names
engraved on the Memorial include
fallen officers from all 50 states,
the District of Columbia, U.S.
territories, and federal law
enforcement and military police
agencies. This event, as well as a
memorial service on the grounds
of the U.S. Capitol Building are
open to the public.
In Honor of National Law Enforcement Week 2013
Several times throughout 2012-present, many of our officers and PD personnel are called
upon to deliver training during Citizens Police Academy classes. We would like to
thank the following individuals that gave of their personal time to ensure that students of
the Basic and Advanced classes received the training and knowledge necessary to ensure
their graduation.
Our sincere thanks to:
Officer Kyle Jones
Officer Bennie Boles
Officer Matt Novosad
Officer Danny Walters
Detective Matt Davidson
Officer Bret Salter
Lieutenant Matt Daeumer
Dispatcher Wanda Richards
Dispatcher Tammy Adams
Dispatch Supervisor Shae Bradley
Victims Liaison Carol Scott
Fire Marshall Cliff Meekins
Humans Control Officer Clarence Anderson
Officer Dan Hoffman
Officer Jesse Arenivas
Officer Brian Larkey
Officer Yvonne Stanley
Officer Roger Gonzalez
Sgt Doug Ditrich
Officer Jeff Tippit
Chief Ken Adcox
Sgt Marcus UpChurch
In 2013, the National Police
Memorial Service will be held in
Washington D.C. on Sunday, May
12, 2013.
Last year, the Telecommunications "Dispatch" staff handled a total of 38,080 telephone
calls, 18,879 of which were 9-1-1 calls, But this is just the tip of the iceberg for what
they really do! "Our Telecommunicators are second-to-none, and I want our entire
organization to know how much I appreciate each and every one of them!!" shared
Shaye Bradley, Support Services Manager and former full-time La Porte Police.
For a complete list of events
scheduled in Washington D.C. this
year, or to donate a virtual candle,
visit
http://www.nleomf.org/programs/
policeweek/
Known as the “Unseen First Responders” who swiftly assess needs and deploy resources
from a state-of-the-art Communications Center, Telecommunicators work tirelessly 24
hours-a-day. In appreciation for all this hard work, the staff was celebrated by their
coworkers throughout the week of April 14-20, 2013 as well as publicly recognized by
the La Porte City Council for the great job they do. We salute these behind the scenes
folks and share our appreciation too for their dedicated work.
Thanks for Making a Difference
in our lives and our community!
Announcements
Adios Friend
Effective, April 29, Sgt. Marcus Upchurch left us as the PAR
supervisor and began working Patrol division. Since the Alumni
began in 2010, he has offered support and become a friend to
many of us. We wish him all the best and while he may no
longer supervise the PAR officers we look forward to seeing
him at our many events and celebrations. Good Luck Marcus!
Welcome Sgt. Lee Stewart
Sgt. Lee Stewart took the reins of the Support Services division
effective April 29th and many Volunteers present at the May 2
Alumni meeting had the opportunity to meet and greet Sgt.
Stewart.
Lee is married with four children and excited about the
approach of his fourth grandchild in September!
If you meet him in the halls or at a meeting, feel free to call him
"Lee."
Lee's law enforcement career began in the City of Meadows
(now Meadows Park) Police Department in 1995. Two years
later, he made his move to the La Porte Police Department and
has worked at one time or another in the various divisions of
patrol, bicycle patrol, field training, honor guard, detectives and
narcotics.
In July of 2007, Lee was promoted to Sergeant and assigned to
the evening shift patrol, Field training supervisor and honor
guard supervisor. During this time he initiated the LP Police
K9 program and became the K9 supervisor. In addition to his
knowledge of law enforcement he is a TASER instructor for the
department.
REPORT YOUR HOURS!!
Don't forget to complete a time sheet when you volunteer
or attend any LPPD or LPCPAAA sponsored event. The
hours help determine eligibility for awards, provide
reports to the Chief which in turn help the PD qualify for
grants or other funding, and it also allows us to share how
great our volunteers are with other CPA organizations!
MONTHLY ALUMNI MEETING
When: Tuesday, June 6, 2013
First Thursday of each month.
Where: LPPD at Spencer Hwy. and N. 23rd St.
Feel free to drop by and listen in on any meeting.
NEWSLETTER INPUT
We would like to encourage anyone attending an event or
volunteering to share any photos or comments. Feel free
to send photos to d2hathorn@att.net or leave comments
about your experience at 281.842.3149.
Need a Volunteer Badge?
Badges are required to participate in a volunteer activity.
Officer Rick Hilton @ 281.842.3120
www.lpcpaaa.org
Be sure and stay up to date on what
is happening in other CPA's around
La Porte!
http://tcpaaconvention.org
We look forward to building a strong relationship with Sgt. Lee
Stewart as we continue to grow the LPCPAAA and support the
LPPD in their endeavors.
Delegates Selected
Vicky & Chris Copley were elected as delegates to the Texas
Conference in July. Richard Browder will also attend as our
President.
The LPCPAAA helps enhance a variety of
community programs through education,
networking and sharing of information
relative to what other law enforcement
agencies, associations and volunteer groups
are doing throughout the city and state.
2012 LPCPAAA Board Members
President: Richard Browder
1st Vice President: Dave Davis
2nd Vice President: Paula Rizzuto
Treasurer: Vicky Copley
Secretary: Ken Rose
Make A Difference
VOLUNTEER in La Porte!
Newsletter Editor: Deb Hathorn
Co-Editor: Doug Hathorn
If you want to touch the past, touch a rock. If you want to touch the present,
touch a flower. If you want to touch the future, touch a life. ~Author Unknown