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Milestones

May 5, 2010

John Lucas of University Communications and Mary Makarushka of University Health Services were honored with Chief’s Awards by the UW Police Department for assisting the department with the coordination of messages to students, parents and the campus community regarding H1N1 issues last spring.

University Health Services director Sarah Van Orman received a Chief’s Award for her leadership in developing the plan for dealing with pandemic influenza and leading the entire campus response to it.

Mary Hitchcock of the Ebling Library for Health Sciences and Jessica Martin, director of Girls Hockey for the Madison Capitols and U19 girls head coach, received Chief’s Awards for helping save the life of a subject in cardiac arrest in Lot 88 at the Kohl Center. Officers Jean VanDenBogart and Brent Plisch received lifesaving awards for quickly applying an AED to the patient and performing CPR until Madison Fire Rescue arrived.

Shorewood Hills police officer Andy Marks and Madison police officer Bart O’Shea received Chief’s Awards for assisting UWPD in locating a UW–Madison student who was threatening to commit suicide. Officers used a thermal imaging device, night vision and infrared scopes, and tracked the student’s cell phone location. O’Shea provided canine support for the search. The student was found unconscious and unresponsive near the entrance to Picnic Point. He was rushed to UW Hospital’s emergency room and survived. Seven UW police officers received lifesaving awards for their efforts in the search.

A Chief’s Award went to Mary Kay Scheller and UW Police detective Doug Scheller for their four-year effort to get “Fran’s Law” passed last year. It ensures that vehicles that collide on private property after leaving highways are subject to hit and run laws. Mary Kay Scheller’s mother, Fran, was killed when a woman drove her vehicle into Fran’s condominium bedroom and left the scene. The driver was not charged because the old state law said the crash had to be on a roadway.

Tom Achtor and Wayne Feltz of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Studies received Chief’s Awards for using their weather monitoring resources to provide game-day forecasts prior to home football games. They have assisted UWPD with its weather-related and decision making processes regarding game days since 2002 when an early fall thunderstorm necessitated the evacuation of the stadium bowl because of concerns about lightning.

The department gave a Community Service Award to the organizers of the First Responders Program, which provides emergency medical services for certain campus events in a partnership with UWPD. Honored for their efforts were Dr. Peter Falk, Katie Egan, Jon Letko, Emily Anstadt, and J.P. Geygan.