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SD Police Chiefs’ Association Presents 2015 Awards
The South Dakota Police Chiefs’ Association presented the following awards during the annual banquet at the joint Chiefs’ and Sheriffs’ Spring Training held in Deadwood on April 23, 2015.
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Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor award is for members who willingly distinguish themselves through an act of courage, involving a risk of imminent serious injury or death, for the purpose of saving or protecting a human life or while taking an armed and immediately dangerous suspect into custody.
The Medal of Honor award is an award given jointly by the South Dakota Police Chiefs’ Association and the South Dakota Sheriffs’ Association. The 2015 Medal of Honor award was presented to Deputy Lester Plank from the Brule County Sheriffs’ Office.
The incident surrounding the award given to Deputy Plank was summarized in the nomination form as follows: “On 1/7/15 near Kimball, SD an armed man by the name of Donald London was shooting his assault rifle at two Highway Patrol Officers. Donald shot one of the troopers, Sergeant John Koenig and had the other pinned down by gunfire in a near building. Sergeant Koenig was laying on the frozen ground calling for help, when Deputy Plank jumped in his vehicle and raced down the driveway towards the gunman’s direction. Deputy Plank grabbed Sergeant Koenig and put him into the passenger seat. Deputy Plank had his truck positioned for cover for Trooper Adam Woxland to jump in as well. Deputy Plank rushed them to safety, risking taking on fire from the armed suspect. Sergeant Koenig managed to board the ambulance and get to a nearby hospital in a timely manner. Deputy Plank is a hero and a man of honor for what he did on that fateful day.” Back row (l to r): Chamberlain Police Chief Joe Hutmacher, Brule County Sheriff Darrell Miller, Lyman County Sheriff Steve Manger and Sergeant John Koenig from SD Highway Patrol. Front row: Janet Plank and Brule County Sheriffs’ Office Deputy Lester Plank.
Lyman County Sheriff Steve Manger as well as Sergeant John Koenig from the SD Highway Patrol were also in attendance and gave their personal accounts of the incident that led to the injury of Sergeant John Koenig and the rescue of Koenig by Deputy Plank. Both Koenig and Manger acknowledged Plank’s actions and thanked him for his selfless act of heroism.
Chief John Wainman, Sr. Service Award
The Chief John Wainman, Sr. Service Award is for contributions by a member of the SDPCA which exceed the high standards and contributions normally made by members.
Sturgis Chief Jim Bush received the Chief John Wainman, Sr. Service Award. The following is from the presentation of award.
“Chief Jim Bush joined the Sturgis Police Reserves in 1978. He was hired as full-time patrol officer in 1979, graduation from South Dakota Standards in February 1980. Jim was promoted to Sergeant in 1985 and became Police Chief in 1990.
His entire law enforcement career has been spent with the Sturgis Police Department and that, of course, means working the Rally. From foot patrol to the Chief, He always strives to ensure a peaceful and safe experience for all visitors, but he doesn’t lose site of the local residents, working with them to deal with the Rally as well as troubleshoot any problems that might arise. No matter what will be new or different each year, he has consistently met the challenge of providing the community with sufficient and appropriate law enforcement readiness. Beyond the fact that he and his department consistently deliver a safe Rally environment for the 500,000+ visitors, the Chief provides a consistent law enforcement presence in the community, year round. The Chief oversees a staff that includes patrol, investigation, records, school and animal control.
In addition to law enforcement service, the Chief has been a past President of the SD Police Chiefs’ Association as well as the local Sturgis United Way Board. In 2011, the Sturgis Chief Jim Bush receives the Chief John Wainman, Sr. Service Award from Dave Kull, President of the South Dakota Police Chiefs’ Association.
Chief was also asked to serve in a leadership capacity as part of the transition management team responsible for the day to day operations of the City between City Managers.
The Chief is a long-standing Board member for the Action for the Betterment of the Community, a local non-profit that seeks to improve the quality of life for the Greater Sturgis area residents by collaborating to reduce drug and alcohol use among youth and to address other social issues that may threaten the health and safety of our communities and families.
It goes without saying that the Chief is a well-respected pillar of the community and his boots will be hard to fill when he finally does step away and retire.
It is a great pleasure to present the John Wainman, Sr. Service award to Chief Jim Bush.”
Spring SoDACEMeeting held in Mitchell
SD Municipal Attorneys’ Association Meeting
By Brittany Smith, City of Philip Deputy Finance Officer, SoDACE Immediate Past President
The SD Association of Code Enforcement (SoDACE) met May 6-7, 2015, in Mitchell, SD, for their annual spring meeting. The meeting was once again highly attended –61 attendees representing 42 cities and towns throughout South Dakota.
During the first day, attendees were provided with four hours of training from Dale Powers, Independent Code Enforcement Consultant. Mr. Powers presented on different strategies in dealing with code enforcement. He pointed out some of the flaws experienced when enforcing the various codes while providing a different approach. More specifically, he promotes a more personal interaction with property owners when initially dealing with code violations.
In addition, Tom Frieberg, Frieberg, Nelson & Ask L.L.P., provided an excellent legal background on the condemnation and assessment process. Sample materials, from court orders to legal notices, were provided to the attendees. He stressed the importance of seeking legal counsel when dealing with code violations.
The Thursday morning session was packed full of useful information. Roy Fyffe with the American Association of Code Enforcement (AACE) presented on the 2015 International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC). The
What: Luncheon Meeting When: Thursday, June 18, 2015* 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. *Note the date change.
Where: Ramkota Hotel, Rapid City
Visit www.sdmunicipalleague.org/sdmlevents for the agenda and registration. goals and objectives of the code were reviewed in great detail. The attendees were engaged in the dialogue and were able to leave with a greater knowledge of the IPMC that they were able to take back to their own communities.
The Wednesday evening banquet was also a successful networking session for the attendees. Congratulations to Jack Neitzert from the City of Huron for receiving the Code Enforcement Officer of the Year Award! In addition, Brittany Smith, SoDACE Immediate Past President from Philip, SD, was also recognized for her past ten years of service on the board. Board elections were held during the business meeting and new officers will be seated during the October meeting that will be held in conjunction with the SDML Annual Conference in Watertown. A plan for training with more consultants from the AACE is already in progress for the fall meeting.
On behalf of the SoDACE board, we thank you for your continued support of our association and allowing your public employees and officials to attend our trainings. More information about the association can be found on the SDML website under the affiliate organization tab.
