AWARD-WINNING OFFICER DARES TO PUT HEART INTO YOUTH PROGRAMS

Cranberry police Officer Rhonda Rearick always has given freely of herself
and her time when it comes to the DARE program and the children who benefit
from it, said Sgt. David Kovach, of the Cranberry police.

"She doesn't hesitate to interact with her students," he said. "She would
often eat lunch with her students, help them with their homework or just be
there if they needed someone to talk to."

Now, Kovach said, Rearick is being rewarded for her efforts.

Rearick, 33, of West Deer, has been named the 2004 Pennsylvania Crime
Prevention Officer of the Year by the Crime Prevention Association of
Pennsylvania.

Kovach nominated her for the award.

Rearick coordinates the Cranberry police department's Drug Abuse Resistance
Education, or DARE, program for Seneca Valley School District and for St.
Gregory's School in Zelienople.

Kovach said she took over those responsibilities from Sgt. Dave Lewis, who
retired from the police department in 2003.

"Sergeant Lewis left some big shoes to fill," Kovach said. "But she didn't
miss a beat."

Rearick, who has worked for Cranberry since 2001, is also involved with the
Charlie Check First program, which has replaced the Stranger Danger program
that used to be taught to school-aged children.

Under the Charlie Check First program, youngsters are taught to check with
their parents before they go anywhere with anyone.

They also are taught that if they get lost in a store, they should not
approach a stranger for help but stay put and yell out their parents' first
and last names.

"They also learn to keep an eye out in their neighborhoods for anything
that they are unfamiliar with," she said.

Rearick said she's now working to bring the program to all second-graders
in the Seneca Valley School District.

Rearick believes her work with DARE and her certification last year as a
crime prevention specialist helped her to win.

"I was shocked when I heard that I won," she said. "And I was very happy."

Rearick said Lewis was her mentor. "He was the one who got me started with
the DARE program, and he was always there anytime I had a question," she said.

Before working for Cranberry, Rearick worked for the Mars police department
for five years.

She will be honored Thursday at the Crime Prevention Association's annual
conference at the Four Points Sheraton Inn Pittsburgh North.