Glasgow Police Department Hires Two New Officers

During the regular session of the Glasgow City Council this month, the Council approved the hiring of two new Glasgow Police Officers, Alex Williams and Monica "Mona" Vines. With the hiring of these new officers, the Glasgow Police Department is able to help fill staffing gaps that have affected the department for months.

Williams was approved for hire by the City Council during their regular session meeting on Jan. 2, and Mayor Rod Karst provided his oath of office on Jan. 10. Williams is originally from Massachusetts and has always be interested in the law enforcement sector. He completed a police internship with the town of Hinsdale Mass., where he was able to gain hand-on experience as a police officer. "I started talking to Assistant Chief Edwards and I really liked everything I was hearing, in terms of what the department offers and what the department has, as well as their commitment to training," explained Williams to the Council on why he pursued this opportunity.

During the interview process, Williams impressed Mayor Karst with his research on the Glasgow Police Department. "Of the three that were interviewed that day, Alex was the only one that did any background on our department and did relate that in his interview. One of them was local and didn't know squat about the department. The other one had lived here at one point in time, but didn't say anything about the department either. He just showed that he did his homework and that was nice to see."

Vines was approved for hire by the City Council during their regular session on Jan. 10, where Rod Karst immediately provided her oath of office upon approval from the Council. Vines previously held the position as Daniels County Sheriff/Coroner for the past nine months and was undersheriff for Daniels County prior to being appointed Sheriff. She decided to pursue this opportunity in Glasgow in order to spread her knowledge of law enforcement and continue learning.

"With the Police Department, we have had some holes and some areas of law enforcement that we've been lacking on for quite awhile. I think Mona is going to be a great addition to the police department, helping us plug some of those holes and being more progressive towards the future," stated Chief Weber.

During the City Council meetings in January, the Council also approved ordinance No. 860 to change the minimum age requirement of members of the Police Department of Glasgow. The ordinance as written stated "members of the police department at the time of their appointment shall not be less than eighteen (18) years of age nor more than forty (40) years of age."

"At this point, the city ordinance doesn't allow us to appoint as an officer for the police department anybody under the age of 21 or over the age of 40," explained Chief Weber at the Jan. 2 City Council meeting. "This would just amend the ordinance to reflect state law, which is as long as someone is 18 years of age." He also explained how he would like to see the upper age limit struck out of the ordinance as well due to the physical fitness assessment and in depth medical reviews the applicant would have to go through in order to be cleared for the position.

After taking Chief Weber's thoughts into consideration, the revised ordinance went through it's first reading at the Jan. 2 meeting and the second reading on Jan. 16, with both passing unanimously by the council.