Pictured from left are Kosciusko County FOP President Lt. Chris McKeand, McCune, Ayres, FOP Chaplin Joel Beam and FOP Vice President Jim Smith. Cameron Shepherd was unavailable for the photo due to his participation on the Anderson University football team.

The Kosciusko County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 149 recently awarded three local students scholarship awards.

The first scholarship recipient is Brette Ayres, North Webster. Ayres is attending Ball State University, Muncie, and pursuing a degree in criminal justice.

The second scholarship recipient selected was Sadie McCune, Warsaw. McCune is a sophomore at Indiana-Purdue University, Fort Wayne, and pursuing a nursing degree.

The third recipient is Cameron Shepherd, Warsaw. Cameron is a sophomore at Anderson University, and is pursuing a criminal justice degree.

The Kosciusko County FOP scholarship program was started in 2006 in remembrance for local law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department Det./Sgt. Phil Hochstetler was shot and killed in 1994 during a criminal investigation. ISP Trooper Jason Beal was assisting a motorist on SR 14 in Kosciusko County when he was struck and killed by another motorist in 2000. Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Jeff Shaw was attempting to locate children in the roadway when a truck crossed the centerline of SR 14 striking his vehicle head-on and killing him in 2009.

Funding for the scholarships is obtained through the annual Kosciusko County F.O.P. Law Enforcement Memorial golf outing.