Sycamore Police Chief Jim Winters told members of Rotary that providing professional law enforcement and public services is the top priority for his department.  Winters became chief in 2017 following a 27-year with the Illinois State Police.  He oversees a department authorized for 31 sworn officers, although there are a couple of vacancies to fill.  The department has an Operations Division (mainly patrol functions) and a division for Investigations and Support Services.  Patrols are carried out in 12-hour shifts to provide 24-hour, seven-day-a-week coverage.  Sworn personnel includes two school resource officers.  The police department’s members go through about 4,000 hours of training each year.  Chief Winters noted the department supports over 40 special events a year, ranging from the complexity of Pumpkin Fest to the much less challenging neighborhood block party.

 

High School Senior Matthew Cleveland talked aviation when he appeared at the November 13th Sycamore Rotary Meeting.  However, he admitted that a couple of years ago he would have told you he expected to be talking about a career in engineering.  Even though his father is manager of the DeKalb-Taylor Municipal Airport and his mother is a flight attendant, Cleveland says it was the flight academy offered by the Kishwaukee Education Consortium that moved him to decide on a career as a pilot.  An Eagle Scout, Cleveland is qualifying for his private pilot’s license.  Cleveland plans to attend the University of North Dakota after graduation.