12 I NEWS I February <strong>20</strong>, <strong>20</strong><strong>19</strong> WEST NEWSMAGAZINE @WESTNEWSMAG WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM Better Together’s public safety plan differs from think tank’s input By JIM ERICKSON There has been no shortage of comment and reaction to the proposal from Better Together to merge the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County into a “metro city” to address the fragmented nature and cost of local government and the questionable quality of services some municipalities provide. It’s also no surprise that public safety recommendations have received much of the attention the proposal has attracted. In the summer of <strong>20</strong>14, Better Together launched discussions with the Police Executive Research Forum [PERF], an independent Washington, D.C.-based think tank, to undertake a study of policing in St. Louis City and County. The shooting death of Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer and the subsequent civil unrest in August <strong>20</strong>14 put added urgency and emphasis on the initiative. At town hall meetings and focus group sessions and by interviewing key stakeholders, collecting and analyzing data, and reviewing items ranging from earlier research to news media coverage, PERF methodically went about its task. Late in April <strong>20</strong>15, PERF issued its report of findings and recommendations, many of which have been incorporated in the conclusions of Better Together documents. However, on one key aspect of the policing/public safety issue, the Better Together proposal differs considerably from what the PERF report recommended. While the Better Together proposal recommends “one professional, accredited police department to provide … services equitably throughout the Metro City,” the PERF report argues against a wholesale merger. “In an ideal world, consolidating all police agencies would have advantages in terms of ending wasteful duplications of effort, establishing agency-wide standards and best practices and producing cost savings,” the PERF report observes. “However, the St. Louis region is large and diverse with different crime problems and priorities,” PERF noted, adding that residents and community leaders in many areas are satisfied with their police departments and work well with them. “Our study revealed a complex policing and justice environment that cannot be ‘fixed’ by any one measure, such as consolidating all of the police agencies in the City and County. Attempting to dismantle current policing structures in these areas would be met with community opposition and undermine productive partnerships that currently exist,” PERF concluded. Ballwin Police Chief Kevin Scott cited the differing approaches of Better Together and the PERF report’s recommendations in response to a comment from Alderman Mark Stallmann [Ward 2] at the city’s Feb. 11 board of aldermen meeting. Stallmann noted Ballwin recently had been named the safest city in Missouri by the National Council for Home Safety and Security, a recognition he viewed as a tribute to the city’s police department. Scott responded that the department strongly advocates the community policing concept that emphasizes a close relationship between citizens and local police officers. The PERF report supports that approach as well, he observed. “Yes, law enforcement needs to change and community policing obviously is the way to go because it promotes a two-way relationship between police officers and their customers, who are the residents they serve,” Scott said. Disrupting that relationship where it’s now being used successfully would be counterproductive, he asserted. While specifically recommending against wholesale mergers of police agencies in the St. Louis area, the PERF report did argue for three “targeted and strategic consolidations” to improve the quality of policing …” in the North County area. The PERF plan would consolidate the public safety function in three clusters of contiguous police departments. Each of the combined groups then would merge via contracts with St. Louis County Police or, in one case, with the Jennings precinct of the County Police. Another option PERF identified for one of the merged clusters was a contract with “the highly regarded University City” department. Acknowledging the differences between the PERF report and the Better Together proposal, spokesman Dave Leipholt from See SUNSHINE LAW, page 46 ‘The Kidney Sisters’ The story behind Barnes-Jewish Hospital’s 10,000th organ transplant By ELLEN LAMPE They call themselves the “Kidney Sisters.” Two pairs of women – best friends Marti and Randi and mother/daughter duo Pat and Kate – who once were strangers to each other but now are interconnected by an unbreakable bond. Marti Simon, of Ballwin, and Randi Halpern, of Chesterfield, have been best friends for years. The depth of that friendship was proven while the two were at a dinner party a couple of years ago. “We were saying bye and I took Marti’s hands in mine and they were so cold and I said, ‘Why are your fingers so cold? What’s going on?’” Randi recalled. It was then that Marti told Randi her health was declining and she needed a kidney. Randi said her response was instantaneous. “I said, ‘I’ll give you my kidney.’ I didn’t even think twice about it.” “I had polycistic kidneys. My mother had it <strong>20</strong> years ago. I tried to be a donor for her and found out I had the same thing,” Marti explained. Due to the condition of her kidneys, [Left to right] Donor Randi Halpern, Dr. Majella Doyle, donor Kate Tucker, recipient Marti Simon, Dr. Yiing Lin, and recipient Pat Conway [Photo courtesy of Barnes-Jewish Hospital] Marti had to go on dialysis. She gets emotional when she thinks back to that dinner party. “She saved my life,” she said of Randi. Randi did save Marti’s life but not in the way the two had anticipated. In late <strong>20</strong>18, it was determined that Randi’s kidney would not be compatible in Marti’s body – news they both described as “devastating.” Enter Pat Conway, of Creve Coeur, and her daughter, Kate Tucker, of Lake Saint Louis. Their story closely parallels that of Marti and Randi. As a result of Pat’s diabetes, her kidneys were beginning to fail. “I went to my kidney doctor. She told me my numbers were not good and I was going to have to go on dialysis,” Pat explained. “Kate was on her honeymoon so when she came back I told her about it. The minute I said it, she said ‘I’m going to donate a kidney.’ It made me cry.” Though Pat was hesitant about putting her daughter through such a procedure, she said Kate was adamant. Then, in late <strong>20</strong>18, they received the See TRANSPLANT, page 46
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