Signs Remembering Troopers Dedicated

Print

Published on June 20 2016 11:11 am
Last Updated on June 20 2016 11:11 am
Written by Greg Sapp

(ALAN DAVIS AND MARK DORIS STAND WITH THE SIGNS AND THE ILLINOIS STATE TROOPERS GATHERED FOR MONDAY'S CEREMONY IN DOWNTOWN EFFINGHAM)

A three-year process was concluded Monday morning with a dedication of the signs now in place along I-57 remembering fallen Illinois State Police Troopers Layton Davis and Frank Doris.

The signs follow dedication of a memorial on the lawn of the Effingham County Courthouse Museum honoring Troopers Davis and Doris as well as two other troopers who died in crashes earlier in the history of Illinois State Police District 12.

Both Trooper Davis and Trooper Doris were shot and killed by suspects during traffic stops. The assailants in both incidents were captured and imprisoned, but the families of the fallen troopers were still left without a loved one.

Once the Effingham County Board gained possession of the former District 12 headquarters in Heartville, the building was dedicated as the Layton T. Davis Building. As years passed, though, the sign fell into disrepair and the building seldom used. That led members of the Effingham Sunrise Rotary Club to begin a campaign to erect a monument to the fallen troopers, which begat the effort to get signs erected along I-57 in recognition of Troopers Davis and Doris.

The Illinois General Assembly eventually approved resolutions designating a stretch of I-57 north of Effingham in memory of Trooper Davis and an area south of Effingham in memory of Trooper Doris. State Representatives David Reis and John Cavaletto were on hand for the dedication, along with a representative of State Senator Kyle McCarter who is out of the country on mission work. 

Also speaking were Effingham County Board Chairman Jim Niemann, Effingham Mayor Jeff Bloemker, and Interim Districts 12 and 19 State Police Commander Cory Ristvedt. Sons of the troopers also spoke, Alan Davis and Mark Doris, as well as various Sunrise Club members. Kathy Schroeder, who spearheaded the project, served as Master of Ceremonies, and Dr. Kelly Stanfield, who headed the sign placement project, offered the invocation.

Niemann, a longtime Effingham city police officer, said the fallen troopers died "doing what we needed them to do, keep the peace". Bloemker's father was a state trooper who had lunch with Davis the day he died and said troopers "run to what we run from".

Doris, who also served as a state trooper until his retirement, was appreciative of the gesture by Effingham County, and Davis said he'd seen signs remembering others who lost their lives in service and thought that would sure be nice for his dad, but never thought it would happen.

Interim Commander Ristvedt said the Doris and Davis families "would always be part of the ISP family."