Manatee Sheriff's Office victim advocates go beyond the call of duty for homeless mother
A belated bow to Sandra Dickerman, Spancha Pompey and Leticia Vela who have consistently gone above and beyond as compassionate Victim Advocates with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
Last fall they did a beautiful thing for a single mother and disabled child living in a car.
After getting the case, Pompey determined the pair needed resources beyond those normally covered by the MCSO Victim Advocate Unit. She and Dickerman, the unit manager, raised donations for a short-term hotel stay before finally locating an unfurnished apartment, making sure it was safe for a disabled child.
Then, after raising more donations for the required deposits and furnishings, Pompey, Dickerman and Vela spent their own money on cleaning supplies and household items, preparing the apartment for the family.
The deserving trio were January’s MCSO Employees of the Month.
· Happy trails to Dr. John Roddenberry, retiring after 40 years.
· Among the honorees at St. Joseph Catholic School’s 70th anniversary celebration were Dr. William and Karen Soscia as Honorary Chairs; James and Marla Doss, Soaring Eagle Award; Angel Colonneso, Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, Outstanding Alumni Award, and the Class of 2002, Top Alumni class with donations and attendees.
· The ageless Popi Ameres is 39. Again.
· Big ups to Bayshore High’s Natalye Avila, the first female wrestler in school history to qualify for the State Wrestling Tournament (155 pounds) and the county’s only female wrestler to qualify.
· And props to those young lady weightlifters who placed at state. Among them were Braden River High’s Payton Mangay-Ayam, second at 154 pounds in Olympic and Traditional, and Jada Phillips, second (139) in Olympic; Palmetto High’s Sherrickia King, second in Olympic Unlimited; and Southeast’s LaJurie Thomas, sixth (154) in Olympic, and Angeline Cao, sixth (101) in Olympic and Traditional. The Noles’ Madison Palso placed 12th (129) in Traditional.
· Well done to Dr. Mona Jain Middle’s Juanita Gomez and Manatee High’s Amy Lu, both Best in Show winners at the school district’s Secondary STEM Competition Awards at Braden River High.
· And Bayshore High’s SkillsUSA team had a big day in districts at Suncoast Technical College. Its first-place state qualifiers were William Walsh, Computer Repair; Alfredo Torres and Daniel Gilcrest, Cybersecurity; Sam Goldrick, Job Interview; Jashun Judge, Prepared Speech; Chase Matherne, Extemporaneous Speech; and Alex Ngov, Technical Related Math.
In second place: Damon Donati, Job Interview; Elizabeth Cline, Prepared Speech; and Luella Ballantyne, Extemporaneous Speech.
In third place: Ileen Rico, Job interview; and Jomari Coleman, Prepared Speech.
Bryan Caban and Geo Figueroa (Robotics) and Henri Ojeda, Justin Hutcherson and Branden Gunter (Crime Scene Investigation) automatically qualified with no competition.
Vin’s People runs Sundays. Email Vin Mannix at vinspeople@gmail.com. Or call 941-962-5944. X (formerly Twitter): @vinmannix.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: VIN MANNIX: A salute for Manatee Sheriff's Office victim advocates
