Persons Honored at Council Meeting for Accomplishments

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Published on October 3 2017 9:16 pm
Last Updated on October 4 2017 9:43 am
Written by Greg Sapp

A number of individuals were honored at Tuesday night's Effingham City Council meeting.

(EFFINGHAM POLICE CHIEF JEFF FUESTING, CITY TELECOMMUNICATOR JANE LUSTIG, AND EFFINGHAM MAYOR JEFF BLOEMKER)

City Telecommunicator Jane Lustig was recognized with a Special Act Award presented by Mayor Jeff Bloemker and Police Chief Jeff Fuesting. Lustig was honored for going above and beyond in helping a woman trapped in her home in Houston, Texas during the onslaught by Hurricane Harvey.

Lustig received a 911 call from someone here who was worried about their loved one who they knew was confined to their home and couldn't escape the storm on her own. Lustig identified the location of the stranded woman's home, phoned the lady in Houston to reassure that she was summoning help, and then phoned Houston police to get the woman rescued.

(POLICE CHIEF JEFF FUESTING, DAWN BLOEMKER, CASEY BLOEMKER AND TIM BLOEMKER)

Dawn and Casey Bloemker were recognized by Fuesting with a Special Act Award for their efforts on behalf of their husband and father, Tim. Tim had been working beneath a car when the jack slipped. Dawn and Casey worked to get the jack high enough that they could pull Tim from beneath the vehicle and take him for treatment. Tim was at the meeting. He said he is still in a lot of pain, but grateful for the help of his loved ones.

(POLICE CHIEF JEFF FUESTING AND POLICE SERGEANT DANNY LAKE)

City Police Sergeant Danny Lake was presented a Meritorious Service Citation for his efforts on November 13, 2016. Lake was on patrol when he was notified a person was attempting to enter a house. On arrival, he found the person in the garage. The other officer on duty was on another call, so Lake confronted the suspect and a physical altercation took place. Despite injuries and the struggle, Lake was able to radio for help and got the suspect subdued. It was later learned that the suspect was suffering what Chief Fuesting termed a "mental crisis". Lake was later thanked by the man's daughter for not using his weapon to diffuse the situation.

(CHIEF JEFF FUESTING AND POLICE SERGEANT JIM DILLOW)

City Police Sergeant Jim Dillow was recognized by Chief Fuesting with a Chief's Commendation Award. Dillow was honored for his work to rebrand the city's police vehicles. Dillow got input from other members of the force, got new decals, and personally removed the old decals, often on his own time after his shift had ended to get the process completed. Fuesting said he's received many compliments from the public on the new look of the rebranded vehicles.