Cass Township Says 16 Have Applied for Police Chief Job

Cass Township says 16 people have applied for its police chief job.

The application window closed on Wednesday, about a month after supervisors voted to advertise the position in August.

Cass Township voted in May to disband its previous police department after suspending all police activity back in February. At that time, supervisors leaned on their Solicitor Mark Semanchik to say that there were issues with the then-police department.

Semanchik said the township was investigating several issues, including a form that had been filed with the state by an officer the township believed hadn’t been on the police roster at the time and $575 missing from the police evidence room.

Supervisors and Semanchik insinuated that former Police Chief Ger Daley, now the Chief in Ashland, was somehow responsible but never divulged exactly how.

No results of the supposed investigation have ever been revealed by the township.

Daley has denied any wrongdoing and calls any accusations against him false.

When Cass Township supervisors voted to disband their police department in May, they said they’d rely on State Police coverage. Then, they touted how responsive State Police were to calls.

However, residents have attended supervisors meetings through the summer and questioned the decision to disband the old police force, some saying they felt unsafe without a local force in place.

Supervisors defended their stance. At one meeting, several supervisors were very critical of the coverage provided by their old department, saying there were numerous scheduling issues and they were having a hard time getting police to show up for work.

Saying they were responding to public will, supervisors in Cass Township said they’d explore restarting the local police department and last month voted to advertise for the Police Chief job.

The goal, according to Chairwoman Brenda Helt, was to start with a full-time Chief and then potentially build upon that.

On Thursday, Helt said 16 applications were received. The field of applicants includes police with experience at the local, state, and federal levels, Helt said.

Cass Township will now screen the applicants and develop a short list from the 16.

Names of the applicants were not disclosed.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Cass Township Votes to Advertise for a Full-Time Police Chief
• Cass Township Has Twice Ignored Free Help in Providing Better Police Coverage
• Foster Twp. May Cover Cass Portion of Highridge
• Minersville Says It Won’t Give Cass Twp. Free Police Coverage
• Cass Township Solicitor Refuses to Answer Questions on Where Missing Money in Evidence Room was Found
• Cass Supervisors Bad-mouth Police Dept. They Disbanded in May
• DA: $575 from Cass Township Police Evidence Room Found on Tuesday
• Cass Township Police Disbandment Leads to Evidence Room Dispute
• Cass Township Disbands Its Police Force
• Cass Twp. Suspends Police Operations Pending Investigation

Subscribe to Coal Region Canary

Get email updates from Coal Region Canary by becoming a subscriber today. Just enter your email address below to get started!

Support Coal Region Canary

Like our reporting and want to support truly local news in Schuylkill County? Your small donations help. For as little as $5, your contribution will allow us to cover more news that directly affects you. Consider donating today by hitting the big yellow button below ...