WASHINGTONVILLE Citing stress of the job, chief of police turns in resignation

Many heated council discussions centered on the chief and the department.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
WASHINGTONVILLE -- Although the police department will be led by a part-time chief, Mayor Eva Delmont said revenue from a 3-mill levy voters passed in November will be used for police department matters.
Chief J.R. Blakeman resigned over the weekend, citing health reasons. Council accepted Blakeman's resignation in a special council session Sunday.
Blakeman and the department were the subject of many heated council meetings along with some members of council and former Mayor Michael Donnalley in the weeks before the November 2003 election. Donnalley was seeking re-election and the police levy was on the ballot.
Besides some council members, citizens involved in the heated discussions were former Mayor Pat Snow; Allen Morrow, son of former Mayor Chuck Morrow; and Delmont.
"I apologize to the citizens of Washingtonville for giving up, but the police don't run this department, the council does, and I'm not going to have a stroke over this," Blakeman said Monday.
Under stress
Blakeman said that the stress of dealing with the politics of the job was elevating his blood pressure, and when council members complained Friday to Mayor Eva Delmont about staffing of a patrol shift, he decided he'd had enough.
"We have a juvenile problem and I had two cruisers out because with only one they get into trouble and then just run to the other end of town," he explained. He said council members Theresa Allison and Roy Hartman complained to Delmont about his having two cruisers on patrol.
"I sent one man home, and then I thought, 'This isn't worth it. I'm done.'"
He said resigning was the most difficult decision he has ever made because he loves Washingtonville and its people.
The council appointed Patrolman Kenneth Foust chief at $10 per hour not to exceed 32 hours per week, Delmont said.
Blakeman ran the department as a full-time chief with five part-time patrolmen. Before the election, Blakeman said he believed he and his officers had developed a good rapport with the community, and he established a police presence on a limited budget.
Leetonia turns down request
Some council members had previously asked Leetonia Police Chief John Soldano if Leetonia would handle police duties for Washingtonville. Soldano has said he does not want to take on that responsibility.
Leetonia also is facing a funding shortage, and Soldano and Leetonia council are negotiating with Columbiana to handle police and fire dispatching as a cost-saving measure.
The continuing levy will generate $19,225 each year for police department operations. In recent years village voters defeated requests to increase taxes to fund the police department.