Star Journal Staff

The Rhinelander Police Department was the first stop Monday on a week-long tour for representatives of Wisconsin Public Service Foundation to say thanks to public safety agencies.

“At WPS we feel very strongly about maintaining good partnerships with law enforcement and all emergency response agencies,” said Leah Van Zile of WPS. “We know that you guys are critical in storms and things like we had last month.”

The foundation surprised several officers with new rescue tools and high-powered flashlights. Police Captain Ron Lueneburg applied for the grant last spring, first asking officers what items they specifically could use the most.

“I selected the rescue tool – if they are at auto accidents they can cut seat belts, shatter windows and things like that for any type of rescue,” Lueneburg said, noting that this was the second grant from the WPS Foundation the department has received. “The first time we received needle-stick gloves so that when officers are doing a search, they don’t accidently get stuck by a needle.”

This is the sixth year that the WPS Foundation has awarded grants, totaling $300,000 to 173 agencies.