FRIENDS AT HOME AID HURT OFFICER

As Cape Girardeau police officer Danny Niswonger recovered in a St. Louis hospital Saturday from surgery, fellow officers and members of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department replaced the roof on his home.

More than 40 police officers and firefighters turned out early Saturday at the Niswonger home -- determined to do what they could for their fallen friend. A St. Louis police officer, a local attorney, a building inspector and a representative of the Cape Girardeau Public Schools also aided in the effort.

Niswonger incurred severe injuries in an April 2 vehicle accident near the intersection of North Sprigg and Emerald Streets. The officer was operating a police motorcycle while working traffic control for a running event, when he collided with a van near the Show Me Center.

The officer has been hospitalized since the accident. On Friday, he underwent nearly six hours of surgery, during which doctors removed his right leg and part of the pelvic bone. Doctors tried for weeks to control an infection in that leg.

Family members said Saturday that although Niswonger was in a lot of pain, doctors said he was doing well following the operation.

But spirits were as high Saturday as the roof volunteers were replacing. Workers quickly stripped the old shingles off the Niswonger home, and began the replacement process by 9 a.m.

At lunch, nearly half the roof was done. Tired, sweaty, sunburned volunteers cleaned up the mess and headed home by 3:30 p.m.

David Sanders, a Cape Girardeau police officer and a cousin of Niswonger's wife, organized the plan to roof the house. Prior to taking a job as a police officer, Sanders worked as a local contractor.

"Danny helped a lot when we built my house about three years ago," Sanders explained. "He was planning to put a roof on his house this summer, and we (Sanders and Niswonger's twin brothers, Steve and Marty) were going to help him.

"But when he got hurt, we knew he wasn't going to be able to replace the roof," he said. "I came and looked at it after some of the storms we got this spring, and saw that it was getting really bad."

So Sanders talked to some of his co-workers at the police station, who all agreed to serve as a labor force for the roof project.

"I put a sign-up sheet in the station and in 24 hours, more than 25 people signed up to help," he said. "There were just all kinds of people who wanted to help in any way they could."

Steve Niswonger, a captain with the Cape Girardeau Fire Department, spread the word through his organization of the work day on his brother's roof, and received a similar response.

But friends and co-workers were not the only people who came forward to offer assistance, Sanders said.

"Out of the blue one day, I got a call from Ron Morgan at Lone Star Industries, asking me what he could do to help," he said. "I told him that I already had a lot of people that were going to do the work, but I was short on supplies."

That was all Lone Star officials needed to hear.

The company, in cooperation with its subsidiaries, provided gloves, shovels, roofing hammers, Gatorade, coolers, wire, a caulking gun, tape measures, wheel barrows, brooms and other supplies for the workers. In addition, Lone Star offered to pay the cost of processing the old shingles at the city transfer station, as they were being hauled away from the home.

Southeast Lumber in Cape Girardeau agreed to bill the injured police officer for the shingles at a price lower than what the business paid for them, Sanders said.

On Saturday, a construction company donated $200 to the project, which offset more than half of the cost of the supplies.

"This has really been amazing," said Sanders, taking a break from his supervisory role on the rooftop. "Everyone is so concerned and wants to help so much. We (Niswonger's family) can't tell everyone how much this means to us."

Although few of the people on Niswonger's roof Saturday were what you could call expert roofers, Sanders said their efforts were valiant.

"I'm breaking in about 20 brand new carpenters today," said Sanders, who had the help of other contractors who brought their tools and expertise to the rooftop Saturday. "But they catch on fast. This kind of thing is just plain and simple hard work."

As the afternoon wore on, shirts came off and skin turned pink under the sun's rays. Neighbors sat in the shade and watched the spectacle. Wives of police officers and firefighters, and Niswonger's relatives brought food for lunch. A constant flow of cool drinks were hauled to the rooftop to keep workers cool.

"I couldn't be happier about all of this," said Steve Niswonger. "I know Danny appreciates it."