Award 5-19-19

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson presented the 2018 Timothy J. Ruopp Award Tuesday to Cpl. Heather Vangennip, the school resource officer for the Nell Holcomb School District. The Ruopp Award is presented to an outstanding law enforcement officer, who is nominated from the ranks of the sheriff’s office, according to a sheriff’s office news release. The award memorializes Ruopp, a former officer with the sheriff’s department who was killed in the line of duty while serving as a law enforcement officer in California. Vangennip began her career with the sheriff’s office in 2003, serving in the jail and patrol divisions before assuming her current position last year. In addition to the Ruopp Award, Dickerson and the family of the late Sheriff Norman Copeland presented three Copeland Excellence Awards, one for each division of the sheriff’s office. Honored were Todd Stevens, field operations; Suzanne Fluegge, business operations; and Lauren Whitmore, jail operations. Shown from left, Deputy Todd Stevens, Suzanne Fluegge, Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson, Lauren Whitmore and Corporal Heather Vangennip.