Laurie Van Deusen Van Reeth

We are all so fortunate to have lived in such a wonderful community growing up in Northern Palm Beach County, in a time that no one had to worry about becoming a crime victim! I miss those carefree times, but still love Palm Beach County. You cannot beat the beautiful sea breezes!

We too were fortunate that so many of us came from just a few elementary schools, one JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL (not MIDDLE SCHOOL), and went to one High School, our very own RBHS. Then we could count the number of school in Palm Beach County on two hands; NOT ANY MORE!

Throughout my career as a law enforcement officer, I did my job trying to reduce the impact crime had upon its victims and secondary victims. I enjoyed my career, with a law part of it being spent in the criminal investigations field at the West Palm Beach Police Department.

I'm currencly working part-time at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office as a Firearms Analyst, as it is with technology and forensics that many crimes are being solved today. All the changes in how we can solve and work to reduce crimes, through technology, forensice and good old fashioned hard work, remains fascinating to me.

Whenever I have a leisure moment or two, I take a drive up to and by our old "stomping grounds" (Lake Park, Riviera Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Juno, Jupiter, and downtown West Palm Beach) and reminise about the good times we had with all the kids we grew up with in our neighborhoods, communities, and schools. Those were the days!

One day, my dear friend (sister) Jan Evans and I did not go to school... we stayed at my house in Lake Park to SLEEP, as we were tired from working at Winn Dixie all weekend. My mother, mad that we did not go to school, called the DEAN OF GIRLS, "MRS WILSON" on us! Jan and I woke up with a look of horrow on our faces, to hear and then see MRS. ORA WILSON, with her silvery white (or BLUE) hair and pump heels, SHUFFLING up my driveway (made of Chatahoochee stone) on Bayberry Drive, scolding us for not going to school that day. It was all "YES, MA'AM... NO BACK TALK!" Needless to say, we were "A LITTLE LATE" that day, but we did go to school. No matter how tired we were, we went to school every day thereafter. This is a time when you FEARED your parents' wrath and the TEACHERS wrath, and not law enforcement's. Think we need to get back to some of this "HEALTY FEAR?"