“I always had a dream of becoming a police officer. Not sure why really. Maybe it had to do with (‘CHiPS’ TV show characters) Ponch and Jon or something.

“I think February will be 15 years for me with Baytown Police Department. Right now I’m assigned to a traffic unit on patrol, but I was involved with the K-9 division for years. I had a sergeant who asked if I wanted to decoy. You know, get in the suit and have a dog bite you. Nobody really wants to do that, or at least not for very long. But it got me into it and I stuck with it. It was very interesting to me, especially the psychological aspect of why dogs act the way they do.

“After I got out of the K-9 unit, I kind of missed the dogs. So I did a little market research on family pets, and I ended up starting my boarding and training business. These days I get up super early to work the dogs, then I get cleaned up and head in to work (with the police department).

“I’ve always kind of had an entrepreneurial mindset. I liked the idea of owning my own business one day. I guess this is kind of the start of my retirement gig when that day comes.”

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“On Wednesday, the rain finally came to a stop for the most part. We were all in shock, I think. My sister was getting updates on her home to find out if it had flooded. Out of the blue I received a call around 4:30 p.m. from Olivia with Operation BBQ Relief, an organization out of Memphis. She had been referred to me by a fellow realtor I was connected with on a national real estate Facebook page. They were set up in Houston, cooking for thousands of people, and wanted to see if Baytown needed food. All we needed was to get the hot food picked up, and to figure out where and how to distribute it. I looked at my sister, Ginger Mashburn, and said, ‘Oh my God, this is huge, but I think we can do it. Where do we start?’ I thought of a friend who has many connections in the community and thought, ‘If anyone can help me figure this out, she can.’ Her name is Alicia Trant, a district coordinator with AFLAC. The moment I contacted her she got to work making calls. The next thing I knew, she had arranged transport for over 3,000 meals. All I had to do was coordinate things here in town — find shelters and neighborhoods that needed food, and gather volunteers.

“Of course, that same day, our cell service went out. Thankfully, my sister had a different carrier, and she immediately got on the phone calling shelters all over the area, getting head counts, confirming their needs for meals and making lists. I took to Facebook via wi-fi and started begging for help from anyone on my friends list and beyond. And so it began. Throughout the night, the word spread. We received messages from people wanting to help and from groups who needed meals. Sleep was optional, as I kept trying to organize in my mind. On Thursday morning, we got up, ate two boiled eggs and hit the ground running. First stop was Dollar Tree, where we loaded up on serving utensils, foil and anything else we thought may come in handy. We got hugs, high fives and lots of ‘God bless you’ wishes from the employees. We then headed out to the parking lot at San Jacinto Mall. We were met by friends I haven’t seen in years and tons of people I had never met. Even one of my former kindergarten students from St. Joseph School (who is now in high school) had come. And we waited for the food to arrive.

“Alicia and her family and crew arrived in a convoy of trucks and trailers with the food, and our organized chaos began. Operation BBQ had given us even more than we had planned for — enough food for 1,800 meals. We mobilized and started making plates of food, quickly realizing we would need lots of to-go containers. The manager of Chili’s walked over and asked, ‘What’s going on here and what can I do to help?’ Throughout the day he shared everything he could with us. Volunteers visited restaurants all around us and came back with stacks, bags and boxes full of containers and supplies. And we kept working, making plates, sending out deliveries according to our lists, taking calls and messages. As we began to run out of the first load of food, we started planning for round two. We cleaned up, moved our station under the trees, and all the volunteers left to take a break. My sister and I did the same. We ran home to let the dogs out, then to grab a quick bite to eat. We got the call while eating that the second round of food, another 1,800 meals, was on its way. Back to the parking lot we went, armed with more tables and a new dose of miraculous energy.

“Volunteers came from every direction. Some had been with us all morning, others had just made it here from other locations. And we all got to work making plates, loading vehicles and delivering hot meals. From a volunteer who was working from home we got a list of local hotels with evacuees who needed meals, and those meals went out to them. We started to receive visitors asking if we had food we could share. Of course we did. We even had people stop and ask if they could donate money to buy plates. This money was given directly back to Operation BBQ Relief to aid in their efforts. It was a hot, fast-moving whirlwind. At one point, someone messaged me to ask what we needed. I said, ‘To-go containers. We have tapped out local restaurants.’ The next thing I knew, a truck stopped, dropped off probably 300 containers, and left before I could even say thank you. There was need everywhere, but also help being offered.

“As we were cleaning up after the last meals had gone out for delivery, a Baytown Police Department officer came up, lights flashing. ‘Uh-oh,’ we thought. ‘Did we need a permit?’ No worries. This fine officer saw the large group of children who were here with their parents, helping and never complaining. He greeted them with badge stickers, high fives and tons of encouragement. Photos were taken and then he was on his way.

“In the hours and days after that, I’ve received many messages of thanks. Someone said I was a hero. I don’t think so at all. I’m a local realtor who grew up in Highlands, and my heart and soul was hurting for everyone in our community. With less than 15 hours of planning time, WE managed to feed 3,600 people in Baytown, Mont Belvieu and Highlands. All I did was take an opportunity and run with it. My husband had spent two days in a boat with his best friend rescuing people and saving lives. I wanted to help, and a chance to do just that fell in my lap. I had no clue what I was doing. But thanks to God’s grace and some amazing people, WE made it happen.

“Alicia Trant and her crew were instrumental. We couldn’t have done it without them getting the food here and helping us the entire day. My sister kept telling me, ‘Good job.’ I told her she played just as big a part in this as I did. All of the volunteers who showed up and worked tirelessly to do anything and everything needed were priceless. There were smiles, laughter, plenty of tears, and lots of sweat and sore feet. But together WE did it. Because we are, and will always be, Baytown strong.

“In the days after, Alicia and her crew began taking meals from Operation BBQ Relief east into Beaumont, Port Arthur and Lumberton. I stayed behind to care for my family, as their home had experienced flooding damage, and my mom was sent home from the hospital during the demo operation. But I did all I could remotely and continue to do so. I route loads of supplies to where they are needed and help direct anyone in need to resources. I will not stop doing all that I can to help this beautiful city. I could go on for days about what I’ve seen and what I’ve learned. I am blessed and will always carry these lessons in my heart. This is the motivation that will drive me forward for a very long time.

— Gay Lynn Milliorn

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“Years ago, I was at the video store renting some movies when this guy approached me. He said, ‘Hey, didn’t you use to be an officer at Sterling High School? I don’t know if you remember but you arrested me one time, and I appreciated the way you did it.’

“Having worked as a school officer for five years, and dealing with about 2,500 students a year, it’s hard to remember everyone. But as soon as he started telling the story, I remembered what happened.

“It was his senior year, and on finals day he came to school intoxicated. He was messed up pretty bad. The principal said, ‘He can’t be here,’ so I ended up arresting him.

“It was a major thing in that student’s life because he couldn’t take his final and he couldn’t graduate with his class. You’d think someone like that would be totally irritated and want to hunt you down, but not the case. I guess because I treated him fairly and didn’t make a big scene, he appreciated that.

“Because of my size, I’ve been told a lot that I’m intimidating. Actually, I’m a pretty happy-go-lucky person. Now, I can be mean just like that if I need to, but I don’t need to start that way.

“My motto in police work has always been to treat people as well as they allow you to treat them. It’s one of the keys to good police work. If you follow that, you’ll reap the rewards of people coming up to you years later saying, ‘Thanks for arresting me that day.’ You’d be surprised how often that happens.

“That’s really the big thing that’s made my career so enjoyable. I’ve dealt with thousands of people and to this day, however many years later, there are still those who come up to me and say, ‘Hey, I remember you,’ in a nice way. Of course, I was a lot thinner and had hair back then.”

— Lt. Roger Park

(Note: Roger Park passed away on April 30, 2020.)

The post ‘Treat people as well as they allow you to treat them’ appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I’ve had my badge in Baytown for almost 26 years, but I left for five years to work as an operator at Bayer. One day at the plant, there was a sight glass blowout. Sight glass allows you to see the material going through the pipe. We were clearing the line, which had hot water and steam in it. Luckily, we had flushed the chemical already. But while we were waiting for everything else to clear, it blew up in my face. I got burned over 40 percent. I spent 18 days in the hospital burn unit.

“During that time, I gave a lot thought to what I was doing. I realized I was only in the plant for the money. It wasn’t something that I really liked anymore. I had worked in the schools for a few years as a resource officer, and I enjoyed that more than anything I’d ever done. So I came back to the police department, and within a year and a half a position came open at the new Goose Creek Memorial.

“I was there until the school district started its own police department a few years ago. I loved working the schools. I worked a basketball game the other night, and it made me realize how much I miss being in there with the kids.

“I’m back on the street full time now, but I do the mounted patrol whenever I get a chance.”

— Norman Anderson

Related:

• Mounted patrol officer at home in the saddle
• Mounted patrol officers feeling the love

The post His heart is in helping others through police work appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I’ve been on mounted patrol since it started, almost 22 years ago. I remember because it was the same year my son was born.

“Growing up, my grandfather rode and I used to go on trail rides with him. I also rode a lot with my friends. I was always around horses, so me becoming part of the mounted patrol was a natural fit.

“I’m working out in my Tahoe whenever they won’t let me ride my horse. But I’m always looking for a reason to be on my horse.”

What do you like most about it?
“Just the freedom of being out in the open. I love it. And then the bond with the horse. I mean, it’s one thing to just go ride. But when you spend time with them and you bond with them, it’s pretty special. If I could be on my horse every day, I’d be a very happy man.”

— Norman Anderson

Related:

• His heart is in helping others through police work
• Mounted patrol officers feeling the love

The post Mounted patrol officer at home in the saddle appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“There’s a lot of disrespect for law enforcement these days.

“I think a big issue is that in the home, kids aren’t taught about respect for others. They don’t respect their parents, they don’t respect their teachers. So the same issue you see in the home floods into the schools, and when they’re older you deal with it on the streets with law enforcement. Everybody wants to be treated one way, but they don’t want to treat other people that same way.

“That’s one of the reasons my wife and I work with Cub Scouts and young people in our church, to help them see things from a different perspective. We can’t change the whole world, but we can change the part that we influence.”

— Rodney Sellers

(Update: Rodney passed away in April 2016.)

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