SEVENTH-GRADERS JOIN CHIEF'S CLUB

Public relations and community-mindedness are the themes centering behind the creation of the Chief's Club, an organization sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Police Department at Louis J. Schultz seventh grade center.

Police Chief Rick Hetzel said 28 students were chosen from a field of 52 nominations to be charter members in the school's new club. Students were nominated for membership by their homeroom teachers because they had demonstrated good citizenship and respect for their school, friends and community. The nominees then wrote essays on the importance of police officers, which Hetzel reviewed before choosing the first class of members.

Hetzel chartered his first Chief's Club four years ago in Norcrosse, Ga., public schools. He said the club grew to be the largest service organization in the school district.

"This is a very susceptible age for young people," he said. "We chose this age group because we want one more opportunity for them to interact with positive role models."

Hetzel inducted charter members and officers during a meeting Friday afternoon. Students received t-shirts and hats with the club logo and elected officers. Felicia Jenkins, 12, and Jake Fish, 12, were elected president and vice-president, respectively.

Students also read the three terms of membership for the club:

-- Chief's Club members understand the importance of safe schools and will encourage others to work together to keep schools safe and preserve learning environments.

-- Chief's Club members will respect themselves and others. They will do nothing to harm themselves or others.

-- Chief's Club members will always respect police officers as their partners in keeping the community safe.

Hetzel told the students they were expected to maintain good citizenship and academics. Those who get into trouble at school or in the community, or whose grades drop may be unable to attend group functions, he said.

"I bet you've all heard people refer to police officers as cops and think that's a bad thing," he told the students. "It's not bad to refer to a police officer as a cop, but what is bad is assuming a police officer is bad when they are simply doing their jobs. What we want to do is expose you to what police officers do so you know them as individuals and support them in what they do."

He said the organization will meet at different sites once each month. Meetings will allow students to learn more about their community through tours and presentations, he said, and students will also meet surprise guest speakers who will deliver motivational presentations.

The club will also sponsor a service project to benefit Schultz school, which is the reason Fish said he wanted to be a member. "I wanted to be in the club because I feel like I need to help the community and make it a better place to live in," he said. "I think it'll be nice to do things like help clean up the school and do things like that to help the school."

Hetzel said he hopes the students will take the knowledge they gain in the program this year and go on to be civic-minded adults. "A lot of people say police work is a little like magic," he told students as he performed a series of magic tricks. "The truth is, with a lot of well-trained police officers and a community that trusts us and kids who respect us, what we're able to accomplish isn't really magic at all."