West Newsmagazine 5-6-20

8 I NEWS I
May 6, 2020
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
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Rev. Dr. Beverly DeBord
Hannah Imig, a Babler Elementary fifth-grader, and her sisters, Maya and
Leah, with the 232 gift cards they purchased for Chesterfield Police.
[Source: Izzy Imig]
news
briefs
BALLWIN
City named among
safest in state
Ballwin has once again been named
among Missouri’s safest cities by independent
review site Safewise. In the top 10
ranking, the city came in at No. 5.
To determine which cities rank among
the safest, the company ranks each one
using FBI crime statistics and U.S. Census
population data.
The rankings are based on both violent
and property crime numbers. Violent
crimes include aggravated assault, murder,
rape and robbery; property crimes include
burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle
theft. Arson is excluded from the FBI’s
property crime rates, so Safewise excludes
it as well.
To level the playing field, the rate of
crimes is calculated per 1,000 people in
each city, which makes it easier to directly
compare the likelihood of those crimes
occurring in cities with vastly different
populations.
Both violent and property crime numbers
were weighted equally. That means
that a city with no violent crimes reported
could end up lower on the list due to a
higher property crime rate, and vice versa.
Violent and property crime for each state is
standardized before weighting.
In West County, only one other community
made the top 10 list. Town & Country
came in at No. 10.
CHESTERFIELD
In support of local police
Hannah Imig, a Babler Elementary fifthgrader,
overheard her parents talking about
the pay cuts Chesterfield Police Department
officers agreed to in order to avoid
furloughs during the COVID-19/coronavirus
pandemic.
She knew immediately that she wanted
to help.
First, she asked if she could put her savings
toward purchasing gift cards to donate
to the officers. Then, she asked her mother
to reach out to some of her friends – complete
with a heartfelt letter from Hannah
– and ask if they wanted to join the cause.
In little more than a day, Hannah and
her family raised $2,365, disbursed onto
232 separate gift cards. They arranged to
drop the cards off at the police station last
Thursday.
“They did not know we were going this
big. They thought we were dropping off a
couple of gift cards and one box of candy,”
said Hannah’s mother, Izzy Imig. “We’re
so overwhelmed with everybody wanting
to help. Having something like this, where
everybody from home is able to help via
Venmo or sending checks, it’s such an overwhelming
feeling. All of this in one day.”
A number of officers were on hand to
thank Hannah and her younger sisters,
Maya and Leah, when they dropped off
the donations. The gift cards are enough so
that every officer at the station can receive
two, with some left over to be raffled off to
raise more funds.
Chesterfield Police named Hannah an
honorary officer for the day.
“We can’t even begin to put into words
how grateful we are to Hannah and even
more so, what a special, thoughtful person
she is!” Chesterfield Police wrote on Facebook.
This is not the first time Hannah has
raised money for police. Two years ago,
she made more than $70 running a lemonade
stand and used it to buy breakfast for
Wildwood police officers.
“She’s very empathetic, very aware and
she’s always wanting to help,” Imig said.
“She’s the same way at school. She goes
to her teacher and asks how she can help
other kids. She is that kid.”
As Hannah put it in her fundraising letter,
“A little kindness can change the world.”
But Hannah is not the only Chesterfield
resident reaching out in gratitude to the
Chesterfield Police Department.
• • •
Ryan Van Wyk launched a GoFundMe
campaign on April 26 aimed at raising
$20,000 for the police department. His
motivation was to repay some of the
income lost by the 10% pay cut.
“They were willing to take the pay cut
not just to help their fellow officers and
city employees but also so they could continue
to serve and support the community
effectively,” Van Wyk said of the force. “I
really think it says something when somebody
believes in their job enough to keep
doing it even though they’re not fully compensated.”
Van Wyk knows first hand the importance
of having a police force available
that is well-trained and willing to serve.
In October 2016, his then 2-year-old
daughter Olivia had been running a fever,
which Van Wyk, his wife and their doctor
were monitoring. Then, at 3 a.m., his
daughter started to go into a seizure and
became completely non-responsive.
“My wife immediately called 911, and
within minutes, two Chesterfield Police
officers were at our side and took control of
the situation. While one officer worked on
our daughter, the other calmed us, explaining
that they had seen this before with little
kids,” Van Wyk wrote on his Go-Fund Me
page [visit gofundme.com, search “Chesterfield
Police”]. “A few minutes later, my
wife was in an ambulance headed to Mercy
Hospital. Olivia had an infection that had
resulted in a febrile seizure.
“It’s not an exaggeration when I say that
we called 911 and there was an officer at
our door in less than 5 minutes.”
Van Wyk said he knows he is not alone in
having a story like this to share.
“Ryan’s story was very moving,” said
Chesterfield resident Helen Crist. “But I
think that he is not alone. I think there are
many households in Chesterfield that have
benefited from the police department, the
fire department, you know, in various ways
at different times. I think we all need to be
aware of what they do for us and … if we
can band together to show how much we
appreciate their efforts it would be a job
well done by the community.”
Both Crist and Van Wyk said it’s not the
amount of each donation that matters, it’s
the message behind the effort that counts.
“One of the things that is really special
about Chesterfield, I really do believe, is
this department and how they treat the city.
They are really something to be proud of
and support.”
Friendship Village resident
turns 107, beats coronavirus
Rudi, who has featured in West Newsmagazine’s
salute to area residents age 100
and older, “100 years & counting: Area
centenarians share their secrets for a long
life,” in February 2019 accomplished two
remarkable feats last week.
He turned 107 on Wednesday, April 29