Austintown Police Department Adds Patrolman

May 15, 2012 at 12:01a.m.

Austintown

The township police department is adding another patrolman.

Gregory McGlynn was sworn in as a police officer Monday, during the trustees regular meeting.

McGlynn, 24, of Austintown, is a Fitch High School and Youngstown State University graduate and served on the township’s reserve unit before being hired full-time.

Chief Robert Gavalier said the approval of a 2-mill police levy in February allowed the department to maintain status quo by filling vacancies as officers retire.

He said this will keep the department’s number of full-time officers at 36, which is nine fewer than at its peak in 2001.

McGlynn was hired as a patrolman to fill a vacancy left by a sergeant who is retiring, Gavalier said.

The starting rate for an incoming patrolman is $19.30 per hour.

Trustee David Ditzler said he’s happy that the department was able to bring a reserve officer into a full-time position.

“Chief Gavalier and Captain [Bryan] Kloss have an excellent auxiliary program,” Ditzler said. “We’re proud to have you as a part of our police department, and we know it wasn’t easily obtained.”

Gavalier said the department’s remaining two reserve officers could be hired to full-time positions by the end of the year as two more veteran officers retire.

The trustees also presented a proclamation to Greg Greenwood, president of Greenwood Chevrolet in Austintown, for winning a 2011 General Motors Dealer of the Year Award. The top 1 percent of dealerships across the country get this award.

Greenwood said the award has his name on it, but it was earned by every employee at the dealership.

“Just like any other award, it’s a team effort,” he said. “We had a lot of tremendous employee support, and our community is twice as supportive as the national average.”

Greenwood said GM began giving the award in 2000, and since then Greenwood has won it five times, though this is the first since GM filed for bankruptcy in 2009.

“This is a bright spot that turns the page here and says, ‘We’re back,’” he said.