With one officer headed for retirement and one slated for a nine-month military deployment, Rochester Police Chief asked the Rochester Board of Selectmen on January 9 to approve his chosen appointee to join the force full-time to fill the opening.
Magee announced current part-time officer Alyson Rego, who has been with the Rochester Police just shy of three years, as his pick.
“She’s been a real asset to the department,” said Magee.
Rego has a master’s degree in criminal justice and has also taken the initiative to receive training and certification as a R.A.D. System (Rape Aggression Defense) trainer, among other things.
Rego has also “stepped up” in areas of community involvement as well, Magee said, which helped make her a top choice of a hiring panel that interviewed several part-time officers currently serving who applied for the full-time position.
Magee added that there would be no incurred costs from the new hire, since the military deployment for which Rego would cover is an unpaid leave and the ensuing retirement will leave a vacancy in the department.
The selectmen had no reservations in approving the request and voted in favor of Rego’s appointment.
She will be officially sworn in before the selectmen and her family and friends during the January 23 Board of Selectmen meeting.
In other matters, Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar announced that the Town will hold a second 911 regionalization informational public forum on Tuesday, January 17 at 7:00 pm at the Council on Aging.
Since the last public forum, Szyndlar said the Town has now acquired more specific numbers on the cost of the transition to 911 regionalization and a cost comparison between what the town currently pays and what it would subsequently pay if it adopted the 911 regionalization.
The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for January 23 at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.
By Jean Perry