Support shown for National Police Week

As a way to honor police officers throughout the country, National Police Week started May 10 and will end May 16.

The week has given members of local communities the opportunity to do something special for local law enforcement.

The Avon Police Department was one of the agencies recognizing law enforcement officers.

“We have not had any specific events for it with the coronavirus, but the department has gotten some stuff throughout the week,” said Avon police Capt. Larry Fischbach. “We have had people bringing in food and some folks have made some cards for us.

“It’s really been overwhelming to see the support. One of the things I’m most proud of is the relationship we have with the community.”

Sheffield Village police Capt. William Visalden Jr. said the week has been coordinated by wives of the department’s officers.

“Two wives (Rene Ketchum, wife of Lt. Darren Ketchum, and Lindsey Collins, wife of Patrolman Kenny Collins) have been coordinating everything,” Visalden said. “They have been reaching out to businesses for support and have been bringing in meals for every shift.

“They also brought in some little cruiser bags with candy and

sanitizer. It’s been a good week, with great support.”

Visalden said the week is a time to remember officers who have given their lives in the line of duty.

“This is the time where we just say to never forget officers like (Elyria police Officer Jacob) Kerstetter and (state Trooper) Kenny

Velez,” he said. “This is the time to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.”

Lorain police Officer Kyle Gelenius said the week really isn’t the same due to COVID-19.

“This is a week where we have gatherings to remember the fallen officers,” Gelenius said. “It’s not the same this year, but we still have spent the week praising their sacrifice.”

Jack Fleming, manager of administrative services for Lorain police Chief Jim McCann’s Office, said the community really supports the Lorain Police Department.

“Erin Klein, a local area sales manager for Labatt Blue, teamed up with Game On in Lorain to provide food for the department,” Fleming said. “The department really always gets support, even when it’s not police week.

“We have support from Lorain Rotary Club who donated gift cards; the new Lorain Meijer, who donated $1,000 in gift cards; Knights of Columbus has shown support; Wing Stop in Amherst donated 43 gift certificates; and individual civilians have also given to show appreciation.

“The community has really had an incredible show of support.”

U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt made two stops in Northeast Ohio May 14, including the Flambeau Outdoors facility in Middlefield.

Bernhardt toured the facility after a stop in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Flambeau Outdoors manufactures a variety of products for hunters and outdoorsmen.

The Department of the Interior stated that Flambeau has seen an uptick in sales as people venture outdoors during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“What a great story to walk through here and hear folks have been working throughout this whole effort and have done a really incredible job of moving forward in this period of time,” Bernhardt said.

The Department of the Interior oversees the National Park Service. Following his Flambeau tour, Bernhardt discussed reopening plans for the parks.

National parks are in varying states of closure. Most park buildings, facilities, and restrooms have been closed. In some cases, entire parks are closed. At the Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, the facilities are closed, but the outdoor grounds (walking trail and cell phone tour) are open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily.

“We have 60 public health officers,” Bernhardt said. “At the beginning we spent a great deal of time analyzing and coming up with a tool that everyone could use to say ‘we need to ensure public health and safety, employee safety and visitor safety.’ We need to look at every facility, every service, every unit and go through a mitigation tool process and we worked with the public health officers to develop that.”

Bernhardt said that now