December 19, 2008 07:26 pm
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By Susan Redden
sredden@joplinglobe.com
CARTHAGE, Mo. — This year’s Christmas party for underprivileged children in Carthage will be the last for Detective Laverne Williams as an official member of the Carthage Police Department.
But Williams, who will retire Dec. 31, plans to stay involved with the event, which he is sure will continue to be a Carthage tradition.
Others credit the long-time department veteran with starting the party which, over the past 31 years, has made sure that thousands of disadvantaged local children received something for Christmas.
Williams, however, says the party was just getting started in 1973, when he began working as a reserve officer. He said Capt. Jim England founded the program, and that he got involved in 1977 when he joined as a full-time officer.
“I got involved with it then and just kept working with it. After a couple of years, I got really involved, then I just stayed on to oversee it,” he said.
Though Williams says many help with the party, no one is more associated with the festivities that started with a few dozen children and has grown every year since.
About 800 kids are expected to gather at 10 a.m. Saturday at Carthage Memorial Hall. Each will get refreshments, a bag of candy and a $10 gift card, and will have a chance to win one of 120 larger toys that will be given as door prizes.
Humble start
Williams said that in the early years volunteers fixed up used bicycles and fishing equipment. Later, each child received a new toy bought by Williams, his wife Karen, and other volunteers.
“Shopping was a huge job then,” said Karen. “We’d buy before Christmas, and we’d also buy at after-Christmas sales and store toys until the next year.”
In addition to police officers, spouses and other volunteers, help for the party each year comes from the Carthage Junior High School student council, whose members set up Memorial Hall and sack candy the day before, then help with the party the day of the event.
“They’re just a blessing; we couldn’t do it without them. They also raise money for it,” Williams said.
The detective has been on medical leave in recent months due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, so much of the work on this year’s party has been done by Officer Chris Vandegevel; Amy Young, a municipal court clerk; and Wilma Aleshire, department evidence officer.
“It seems like a lot of work — and it is — but we’ve done it for so many years that it’s organized,” he said. “Everyone keeps track of their jobs.”
The party is well-organized because Williams is well-organized, said Young, who said this year’s planning meetings have been held at the Williams’ home.
“He’s the most organized person I’ve ever seen,” Young said. “If he’s in charge, it’s going to get done and get done right. He keeps records from year to year and he knows exactly what needs to be done.”
Williams said the party has become a Carthage tradition that has gained the support of many in the area.
“Since the early years, I don’t recall ever having to solicit for support, it was always just stories in the media and word of mouth. It’s totally supported by the public; no city money goes into it.”
“We have a wonderful, generous community and people don’t want the party to stop.
“I remember one year this older lady came in and gave us $1.10 for the party. It was all she had and she wanted to give it to us,” he said. “And some of the junior high kids who work the party now used to be the kids who were invited. So its kids helping kids.”
Police role
Williams for years has served as a juvenile officer and headed up the department’s community affairs programs.
In that capacity, he’s done countless safety programs in which children were fingerprinted and videotaped, organized bicycle rodeos and a Halloween coloring contest to emphasize holiday safety, plus cookouts and other gatherings that allowed police and youngsters to mingle on the square in a casual atmosphere. He also started the Citizens Police Academy, which has educated local residents on operations of the police force.
Chief Greg Dagnan has known Williams for years, through contacts when he was chief investigator for the prosecutor’s office, then executive director of the Children’s Center of Southwest Missouri.
He said Williams “has truly made a niche for himself, doing what he does best in working with community programs and with child victims and juvenile offenders.
“If he worked a crime against a child, there was no stone left unturned in his investigation, and the report was meticulous,” Dagnan said. “It’s the same way when I worked at the prosecutor’s office. You always liked getting a report from him, because if it needed to be done, it would get done.”
Dagnan said Williams will always be a part of the department.
“I’d like to see him down here a lot, when he feels like it. We call him about every day,” he said.
Retirement party
A party honoring Laverne Williams will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31, in the Carthage Council Chambers, 326 Grant St.
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