2 weeks Ago
Mexico Administrative Assistant Jim Theriault Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times MEXICO — Administrative Assistant Jim Theriault provided an update to the police recruitment efforts to the Select Board at the Nov. 19 meeting. Theriault, a former county sheriff and Mexico police chief, was hired Aug.
19 by the town for a year as chief administrator of records, evidence and inventory, shortly after the police department suspended operations due to a shortage of officers. “I had received eight or nine applications for the job so far and actually none are blue pins (been to the police academy). But I have spoken at great length with two blue pin people, which are academy graduates, and they both declined.
So in the next couple of weeks, I’ve got leads on a couple more blue pins that I’ll be contacting. Hopefully, at least one of them will come,” he said. Theriault said, “I have applications that I’m seriously looking at, three local people.
They would have to be sent to the academy.” Acting board chair Richard Philbrick asked if there was a police academy in January. Theriault responded, “There is, but I don’t, financially, the town would be able to pay for three of them going at the same time.
Maybe send two now...
” Philbrick said, “Well, at least get two going if we’re going to do something.” Town Manager Raquel Welch-Day said, “They usually don’t give three spots anyway.” Theriault said, “They’re aware of our situation, so we might get a little leniency.
” He continued with his recruitment report. “I’m doing a background check on one application. The guy is from Quincy, MA.
He has a wife and two kids. He’s 57 years old and he’s got 15 years experience in Massachusetts, so that’s worth about 25 years here. We’re working together with the academy on a waiver so that he doesn’t have to go to the academy.
” Theriault confirmed that that’s because he’s from a different state. He said he’s also in contact with a guy from Ontario, Canada, who “really wants to come here.” That candidate is 31 years old, has a family and “all kinds of experience up there.
The only problem is that everyone is telling him that he needs a green card or a work visa just to get into the country,” said Theriault. He said he and the candidate are working with Angus King’s office about this matter. Theriault said he saw on the news that U.
S. senators Angus King and Susan Collins put in a bill that got 240 more work visas, “and that’s what he needs.” Meanwhile, Theriault said he’s working on getting himself recertified (as an officer) “so I can do this job the way it should be done.
I’ve done 20 out of 21 online classes so far. That’s just phase one. There’s two other phases after that.
” He noted he is also taking care of “hundreds” of emails that have been sent to the police department. That includes bills that need to be paid, but a lot of it is from salesmen. Theriault said he had talked to the top three people with the Sheriff’s Department “and smoothed things over between be and him, so now I’ve got the Sheriff’s Department doing our background checks for us, which I couldn’t do because I’m not certified.
So that’s a big plus.” He said he’s also spend that last two months trying to get the existing COPS grant the department has situated so it can be used going forward. A citizen asked, “Once you get prices and everything, is this going to be put out to voters so we can decide what we want for a department?” Philbrick added, “I think we should because I think you guys are the citizens who vote so we should put it out there.
” Welch-Day said, “I’d like to come up with a system that everyone who pays taxes gets a vote. I don’t think going online to do that is the way to do it because older people don’t go on. So somehow to get volunteers take the tax list and go out and do a survey door-to-door.
I just don’t want to leave a taxpayer not able to vote just because they don’t go online.” Comments are not available on this story. Send questions/comments to the editors.
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