CHARLES HERBST GETS STATE RECOGNITION

Cpl. Charles Herbst has logged a lot of accomplishments during his relatively short career with the Cape Girardeau Police Department. It is easy to see why he was chosen one of 10 outstanding young Missourians for 1997 by the Missouri Jaycees.

Herbst, 34, was nominated by the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce after having been selected for a similar, local award by that organization.

Herbst joined the police department's reserve unit in 1987 and became a full-time patrolman n 1989. In 1994, he became a member of the new Community Service Officer Unit, which works to make life better for people in targeted neighborhoods. As supervisor of the unit, Herbst has developed a resource card list of phone numbers for such things as shelters, clinics, family support groups, and food distribution centers. It is given to every person the unit comes in contact with.

Herbst has spoken to more than 100 civic, fraternal, religious, student and governmental groups in the past three years. In 1995, he and his partner, Ike Hammonds, were chosen by fifth graders as a Community Hero. The students composed an essay about their work, and as a result Herbst was selected an Olympic Torch bearer.

Herbst is spreading a lot of goodwill for the Cape Girardeau Police Department, and for doing so is deserving of the Jaycees' award.