Two western Wisconsin police officers who were shot and killed in the line of duty will be nationally honored. And to help get their families and police departments there for the ceremony, fundraising efforts are underway to help pay their way.

One way the community is raising money is with hand-crafted ornaments — one each for Chetek police officer Emily Breidenbach and Cameron police officer Hunter Scheel — sold at The Pine Lodge Shop.

And so far, orders for the ornaments are stacking up.  

“We didn’t know it was [going to] take off like this, but it’s definitely a blessing,” Cindee Borton-Parker, owner of the shop, said.

“What’s really nice is almost every person who’s ordered has ordered one of each ornament,” Boron-Parker added.

This May, during National Police Week, the two fallen officers will be honored at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Part of the sales from the ornaments will go towards helping with the cost of getting the officer’s families and members of their police department to the national memorial.

Chetek Police Chief Ron Ambrozaitis says the goal is to raise $40,000 and that more fundraising opportunities will be shared soon.

“April 8 was a bad day for all and you know, we just would love to forget it, but we never will,” Chief Ambrozaitis said about the day the two officers were killed.

“It’s a nation’s way of appreciating who they were and what they sacrificed. The sacrifice they made,” said Chief Ambrozaitis about the importance of the national recognition.

The police department also said that checks can be made out to the Barron County Law Enforcement Foundation and sent to the Chetek Police Department at 101 Moore Street, Chetek, WI 54728.

“We knew most of these people, so I mean it’s really nice to give back and hopefully [this] will be a big part of the money that is needed to get them out there,” Jennifer Blatz, who makes the ornaments with Blatz Custom Creations, said.

Only a couple weeks in, The Pine Lodge Shop said they’ve sold more than 200 ornaments and say plenty more can be made.

“It still hurts when you think about it and still can’t believe that it happened to our little towns,” Borton-Parker said, adding, “That’s what I want this ornament to mean, every year when we put it up on the tree that their families, and their coworkers, their loved ones, their friends all know that we will never forget.”

Pre-orders can be made here.