I have spent some time preparing for my departure to the FBI National Academy in January. Sgt. Sean Lundry will be acting chief while I’m away. There was considerable work getting Sgt. Lundry up to speed on his additional duties which will include a change of schedule for him. Sgt. Lundry will switch over to a schedule similar to my own while I’m away. He will be on duty Monday through Thursday during the work week. Sgt. Bickle will assist him as needed. I do have access to city email and cell phone while I’m at the academy.

The National Academy will last ten weeks and will begin on January 7th. I actually fly out the 6th, the day after your council retreat. I’m excited for the opportunity to get some of the best leadership training the country has to offer. The last day of the academy will be March 15th. I’m not so excited to be gone for that period of time but rest assured, the police department is in good capable hands while i’m gone. I will have weekly teleconferences with Sgt. Lundry to keep me up to speed on what is happening in Sandy.

Now for news concerning your police department during the month of December. We are in the middle of recruiting another Police Records Specialist. The applications have now been screened and a written test has been administered. Top candidates have been selected from the written test and panel interviews will follow soon. We have a great pool of candidates so I’m excited to get someone on board soon. We are hoping to have a candidate selected by the end of January.

We are also recruiting for another patrol officer position that is currently vacant. The position was previously filled by Jesse Steffanson. Officer Steffanson accepted a position from the Oregon State Police in November of this year. We are in the beginning stages of this recruitment. With that said, we are changing the way we recruit officers to our city. With the help of HR Manger Angie Welty, we are putting together a completely new recruitment packet and will advertise in a variety of different ways. The goal is to attract additional candidates to our wonderful city by letting them know everything our city and our police department has to offer.

I hope all of you had a merry Christmas and a happy new year. See you all in March.