RIPLEY – Unity Baptist Church has become the first donor to the under-development DeWayne Crenshaw Memorial Scholarship, named in honor of the Tippah deputy who was shot and killed in line of duty last December.

At a ceremony Sunday evening, Aug. 14 at the church, pastor Ronnie Barefield presented a $500 check to deputy Crenshaw’s widow, Jane Crenshaw.

The scholarship is being managed by the Northeast Mississippi Community College Development Foundation, and as a 501-C3 entity, donations are tax deductible.

Plans are to distribute the first scholarship in mid-May, 2012, to a second year student majoring in law enforcement and/or enrolled in the ROTC program at Northeast Mississippi Community College. The scholarship would pay $500 during the fall semester and $500 in the spring semester. Those interested in applying for the scholarship, or in donating to it, should contact the Foundation at 662-720-7185 for more information.

Said Bro. Barefield: “We wanted to make this donation to Mrs. Crenshaw in honor of her husband’s great sacrifice. As a church family it allows us to show our appreciation to our current law enforcement officers and also to make an investment in future law enforcement officers in our area.”

Said Mrs. Crenshaw this week: “I was very honored and proud to be presented with the first check for the DeWayne Crenshaw Memorial Scholarship Fund to be given by NEMCC. I was always very proud of DeWayne and will forever be so. He was not your run of the mill man. He set goals in his life and met most of them head-on. I had no idea how many peoples' lives he had touched until after he was gone.

“So many people have come up to me telling what or how he had changed or helped them. This is why it means so very much to me and our family to keep on giving back in some small way and to keep his memory alive. Thank you Unity Baptist Church and God bless Brother Barefield and all his flock.”