Civil Service Commission

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - The Greencastle Police Department is on course to lose its only remaining full-time officer other than the chief, but the borough council has made no move to fill vacant full-time positions, officials said Thursday. Instead, the council has advertised solely for part-time officers, Mayor Robert Eberly said. Three full-time officers have left the department since this time last year, and Waynesboro (Pa.) Borough Council has approved the tentative hiring of Greencastle's last full-time officer, Robert Petrunak, for the Waynesboro force effective April 1. Eberly, who supervises the police department, said he had not received a resignation from Petrunak by Thursday evening.

Sheriff fires deputy over political hat By DAVE McMILLION and BOB PARTLOW / Staff Writers MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Outgoing Berkeley County Sheriff Ronald Jones has fired Cpl. Wilbur Johnson over Johnson's decision to wear a political hat at a golf charity event, Johnson's attorney said Wednesday. continued Jones fired Johnson even though the Berkeley County Deputy Sheriff's Civil Service Commission requested that Jones delay relieving Johnson of his duties.

Political hat gets W.Va. deputy canned By DAVE McMILLION / Staff Writer, Charles Town MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A Berkeley County deputy must be terminated from his job because of his decision to wear a political hat during a golf charity tournament earlier this summer, a Civil Service Commission ruled Wednesday. At the same time, the Berkeley County Deputy Sheriff's Civil Service Commission requested that Sheriff Ronald Jones delay terminating Cpl. Wilbur Johnson to give Johnson an opportunity to appeal the decision.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - The Greencastle police force is down to only a handful of part-time officers following the resignation of full-time duty officer Bob Petrunak. Petrunak officially resigned from the force Monday when Greencastle Borough Council voted to approve the letter of resignation he submitted before Thanksgiving. Petrunak served on the force since 1999, borough manager Ken Myers said. He left to take a job as a firefighter with the Hagerstown Fire Department. Myers said part-time officer Orien Hippensteel also resigned this month, thinning the force to only eight or nine part-time officers and the chief.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A police civil service commission has upheld Berkeley County Sheriff Ronald Jones' decision to fire a deputy over a family violence protective order that was filed against the officer. Because Deputy Richard Burrell continues to have a criminal domestic battery charge pending against him and because of the nature of the allegations in the criminal charges, Burrell's ability to represent the department "in a reputable manner has been compromised," the Berkeley County Deputy Sheriff's Civil Service Commission ruled Friday.

By CLYDE FORD Staff Writer, Charles Town CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department hired a Charles Town Police officer Thursday who last week was cleared by the Civil Service Commission of an allegation that he lied under oath. Officer Ward Sigler, a four-year veteran of the Charles Town Police Department, said he stayed with the department long enough to "clear his name" and is now eager to start at the sheriff's department. Sigler, 29, was reinstated to the police department on Jan. 23 after the Civil Service Commission heard allegations from Police Chief Mike Aldridge that Sigler lied under oath at a grievance hearing in September.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Richard Burrell, whose firing from the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department was upheld by a Civil Service commission, has filed an appeal to Circuit Court. Burrell is seeking reinstatement as a deputy. He had worked for the department for almost five years. Sheriff Ronald Jones fired Burrell on March 29 because an order of protection obtained by Burrell's girlfriend allegedly prevented Burrell from possessing a firearm. Through his attorney, David Joel, Burrell objected.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Eighteen officers in the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department have been promoted. Sheriff Ronald Jones said it is the first group of promotions in the department since 1983. According to the department, the promotions were: From sergeant to lieutenant - Kim Bohrer, Cheryl Henry-Keller and Dennis Streets. From corporal to sergeant - Samual Talley, Paul Copenhaver, Russel Shackelford, John Vanorsdale Jr. and David Scott Richmond. From deputy to corporal - William Johnson, Dennis Messick, Gary Harmison, Dan McGown, Robert Buracker, Theodore Snyder, Ronald Gardner, Richard Nelson, Rebecka Collins and W. Mark Spessert.

GREENCASTLE, PA. - As of Tuesday afternoon, the borough of Greencastle had received 23 requests for applications and eight completed applications for the vacant police chief position, Borough Manager Ken Myers said during Monday's borough council meeting. The three applications that were received as of Sept. 19 were reviewed by the Public Safety Committee - made up of council members Harry Foley, Gerald Pool and Chairman Paul Schemel - during a meeting Sept. 26. Schemel said the committee discussed two matters - the review and hiring of two full-time officers and the police chief vacancy.

The Chambersburg Civil Service Commission in late May upheld the suspension of a paid firefighter accused of engaging in conduct “unbecoming of an officer,” according to a copy of the commission's order. Shift Capt. Patrick R. Martin had appealed his 240-hour suspension, but the three-member commission denied the appeal in an order dated May 25. Martin's suspension was tied to an October 2011 letter in which, as president of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1813, he asked members to refrain from providing volunteer firefighting services in the borough of Chambersburg.

Some Berkeley County sheriff's deputies were wrongfully promoted since 2009 at the expense of other deputies who were denied advancement, a circuit judge has ruled. Two sets of rules that were used by the Berkeley County Deputy Sheriffs' Civil Service Commission for making such promotions violated state law, 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Christopher C. Wilkes ruled in a 32-page final order filed last month. Five promotions made since 2009 will now have to be revisited by the civil service commission, which was ordered by Wilkes to recalculate deputies' scores based on the results of competitive examination, performance evaluations and years of service with the sheriff's office.  The judge wrote that “extra points for education, previous law enforcement experience and oral interviews are not part of the 'complete and all-inclusive system ... for promotion ... of deputies'” in state code and are prohibited.

Applications will be gathered at the end of the week from Waynesboro police officers who want to be the department's new chief. "We will distribute the compiled applications and then the council will determine who to interview," Borough Manager Lloyd Hamberger said. The Waynesboro Borough Council, which would like to promote from within, will send its pick to the three-person Civil Service Commission for an exam to make sure the person is qualified for the position, he said.

GREENCASTLE, PA. - As of Tuesday afternoon, the borough of Greencastle had received 23 requests for applications and eight completed applications for the vacant police chief position, Borough Manager Ken Myers said during Monday's borough council meeting. The three applications that were received as of Sept. 19 were reviewed by the Public Safety Committee - made up of council members Harry Foley, Gerald Pool and Chairman Paul Schemel - during a meeting Sept. 26. Schemel said the committee discussed two matters - the review and hiring of two full-time officers and the police chief vacancy.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - Although the search for a new police chief for the Borough of Greencastle could take four to five months, Mayor Robert Eberly believes that if all candidates are interviewed by Oct. 19, it might be possible to hire someone by mid-November. "There's been quite a good response," Eberly said. "We (want) to get interviews done as soon as applications" are received. Greencastle Borough Manager Ken Myers said the borough received 14 requests for applications for the position, but none had been returned.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - After months as the only full-time officer in the Borough of Greencastle, Police Chief Peter Mozurkevich soon might welcome at least one additional full-time police officer to the force. Mozurkevich said Wednesday that the borough Civil Service Commission will test for new officers on Feb. 7 and compile a list of eligible candidates to be reviewed by the Greencastle Borough Council. Mozurkevich said the commission has advertised for at least one full-time officer, but said he recommends the council hire more.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - The Greencastle police force is down to only a handful of part-time officers following the resignation of full-time duty officer Bob Petrunak. Petrunak officially resigned from the force Monday when Greencastle Borough Council voted to approve the letter of resignation he submitted before Thanksgiving. Petrunak served on the force since 1999, borough manager Ken Myers said. He left to take a job as a firefighter with the Hagerstown Fire Department. Myers said part-time officer Orien Hippensteel also resigned this month, thinning the force to only eight or nine part-time officers and the chief.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - The Greencastle Police Department is on course to lose its only remaining full-time officer other than the chief, but the borough council has made no move to fill vacant full-time positions, officials said Thursday. Instead, the council has advertised solely for part-time officers, Mayor Robert Eberly said. Three full-time officers have left the department since this time last year, and Waynesboro (Pa.) Borough Council has approved the tentative hiring of Greencastle's last full-time officer, Robert Petrunak, for the Waynesboro force effective April 1. Eberly, who supervises the police department, said he had not received a resignation from Petrunak by Thursday evening.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The only remaining full-time police officer in Greencastle, Pa., other than the department chief, received approval to be hired for the Waynesboro Police Department by the Waynesboro Borough Council on Wednesday. Officer Robert Petrunak has been the sole full-time officer with the Greencastle Police Department since one colleague resigned in December 2005 and another in January of this year. If Petrunak accepts the offer from Waynesboro, Chief Peter Mozurkevich will be working with about half a dozen part-time officers and no full-timers, said Charles Eckstine, Greencastle borough council president.

Thumbs up to the volunteers and staff of the United Way of Washington County, who raised $1,649,569 in a 2005 campaign that topped the previous year's total by $18,700, despite all the money that was sent out of the area for Hurricane Katrina relief. Special credit goes to Volvo Powertrain Locals 171 and 1247, which increased their contributions by $20,318. Thumbs up to officials in Berkeley County, W.Va., for working out a deal with Capitol Cement Corp. to enable the firm to do a $320 million expansion project that will allow the county government access to 2 million gallons of water per day, retain 150 existing jobs and create 250 jobs during construction.