West Newsmagazine 12-13-23
Local news, local politics and community events for West St. Louis County Missouri.
Local news, local politics and community events for West St. Louis County Missouri.
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WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM<br />
December <strong>13</strong>, 20<strong>23</strong><br />
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />
I NEWS I 9<br />
and graduated from the Missouri Police<br />
Chief’s Command College,” according to<br />
a release from the city.<br />
In 2014, he joined Town & Country<br />
Police, moving through the ranks to his<br />
current command position. According to<br />
the press release, Wilkey has made several<br />
contributions that have benefited the<br />
department, including working on a plan<br />
to restructure the benefits package and pay<br />
scale for police officers. He also recently<br />
graduated from the 285th Session of the<br />
FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.<br />
Rehm said he was pleased with the<br />
choice of Wilkey as chief.<br />
“I think he will have a very good balance<br />
of building the culture of the police force,<br />
supporting the police officers and having<br />
their back while at the same time expecting<br />
them to perform their duties and meet<br />
the goals he sets for them,” Rehm said. He<br />
noted that Wilkey’s father is also a police<br />
officer.<br />
“He’s grown up in that (culture),” Rehm<br />
said. “I think he’s a police officer’s police<br />
officer.”<br />
Wilkey said his new role is simply<br />
another expansion of work he has done in<br />
the past.<br />
“Coming up in my career, I’ve been<br />
tasked with different portions of law<br />
enforcement operations, and now I’m<br />
charged with the overall law enforcement<br />
operations (of the department). It’s just a<br />
bigger umbrella, and I’m excited for it,”<br />
Wilkey said. “I’m very fortunate. I inherited<br />
a great place to work with a community<br />
that’s very supportive.<br />
“I just want to continue to provide exemplary<br />
levels of service for our community,<br />
make it a great place for our officers to<br />
work and for our community members to<br />
thrive.”<br />
that The Kaufman Fund helps and supports<br />
our veterans all year long.”<br />
The local nonprofit was founded in<br />
1990 in memory of Ralph Kaufman by his<br />
younger brother Wayne Kaufman. Ralph<br />
was a veteran himself who served four<br />
years in the United States Air Force. After<br />
his service, he went on to become a successful<br />
businessman, but he never forgot<br />
about those who serve our country.<br />
Through its grant program, the organization<br />
turns private and corporate donations<br />
into help and hope for:<br />
• Veterans with mental health challenges<br />
find more access to care through its Mental<br />
Health Collaborative.<br />
• Veterans in need of groceries through<br />
its Food for Vets program.<br />
• Veterans with post-traumatic stress<br />
disorder, who receive equine- and dogassisted<br />
therapy as well as art therapy.<br />
• Veterans at the Missouri Veterans<br />
Homes through visits, gifts at Christmas,<br />
special parties and outings designed for<br />
their welfare.<br />
• The children of veterans through scholarships.<br />
• Disadvantaged veterans in need of<br />
winter coats, hats and gloves.<br />
• Deployed military members serving our<br />
Freezing weather is here!<br />
country through care packages.<br />
• Unemployed veterans in need of<br />
employment assistance.<br />
• Veterans in need of dental assistance not<br />
covered by the Veterans Administration.<br />
• Military families in need of grief counseling<br />
after losing a loved one.<br />
• Veteran and active duty military members’<br />
families, who need assistance during<br />
hospital stays.<br />
• Veterans who have legal issues that<br />
need representation by an attorney through<br />
its Legal Program.<br />
• Disabled veterans who receive therapy<br />
through sports activities.<br />
WEST COUNTY<br />
Local nonprofit gifts<br />
holiday trees to vets<br />
On Dec. 3, The Kaufman Fund gifted<br />
local veterans and their families with<br />
holiday trees and other items as a way of<br />
saying “thank you” for their service.<br />
“It was an amazing day at our annual<br />
Trees for Vets event,” said Kaufman Fund<br />
representative Alan Epstein. “Many items<br />
were given away to our local veterans in<br />
addition to the trees. There was something<br />
for everyone in the family!”<br />
Among those items were gas cards,<br />
Butterball turkey coupons, kids’ meal<br />
coupons from Raising Cane’s, backpacks<br />
filled with school supplies, hoody sweatshirts,<br />
stuffed animals, food, drinks, and<br />
more.<br />
“Every ‘goody bag’ had about 35 to 40<br />
items in it,” Epstein said. “It’s another way<br />
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