| |
|
|
| Rally To Honor Sergeant's Help To Crime Victims
|
|
|
A deputy sheriff, a murder victim's family and a volunteer will be honored during Cumberland County's annual Victims' Rights Rally.
Monday, April 27, 2009
BY MATT MILLER
mmiller@patriot-news.com
Bryan Ward seems like a tough guy, but for victims of crimes he has a soft center.
That's why Ward, a sergeant in the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department, will receive a Victim Advocacy Award during the county's annual Victims' Rights Rally on Thursday.
He shows a compassion that helps calm crime victims when they come to court hearings nervous, scared and often befuddled, victim advocate Adrianne Bowermaster said.
"He wears his heart on his sleeve, in a professional way," she said. "He goes above and beyond to ensure the safety and comfort of the victims.
"Many times he'll talk to the victims, tell them he's sorry they have to be here, ask what he can do."
Ward, 37, of West Pennsboro Twp., said that's only right. He knows how it feels to be a target of crime because his home was burglarized years ago.
"I try to put myself in their shoes," he said. "You see the victims crying or a little kid who's a victim crying and it personalizes the whole thing."
It gets to you, he said.
"I know [crime] can happen to anybody," said Ward, a nine-year veteran of the sheriff's office. "In this job, you come to realize that nobody's immune."
His advocacy award is for law enforcement.
Another award is being given to the family of Toni Clouse Myers, 42, of North Middleton Twp., who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, Shane Geedy, in July 2006. Geedy is serving a life prison term.
Bowermaster said Myers' sisters, Shelly Morrow and Wendy Deibler, are heavily involved in fundraising for Domestic Violence Services of Cumberland & Perry Counties and her parents, Jim and Pat Clouse, are solid backers of the program, too.
Karen McClellan of Carlisle will receive an advocacy award for her volunteerism.
McClellan has devoted hundreds of hours working on hot lines and with other ventures of domestic violence services and the local sexual assault/rape crisis program, Bowermaster said.
Rally for victims
Victim Services Agencies of Cumberland County will hold a Victims' Rights Rally at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Stuart Community Center, 415 Franklin St., Carlisle. The free public event will include testimonies from crime victims.
©2009 Patriot-News
© 2009 PennLive.com All Rights Reserved.
|
| |
| |
|
|
