Zirk's planned purge no surprise

I read, with no surprise, about the situation here in Gilberts regarding our police chief, Mike Joswick. I believe that replacing him would be a real travesty.

Unlike our short-time resident Rick Zirk, who was recently elected village president, Charlotte and I have lived here in Indian Trails for over 20 years and have watched the "small town" boom to what it has become today.

Part of that growth has been the police department. We applauded the hiring of Mike Joswick as chief, knowing full well that he was the right man for the job then and with an eye to the future growth of the village's population, which, obviously, would mean the increase in size and responsibilities of the police department. Mike's personal growth has been consistent and our entire police department, under his supervision, has and is doing a tremendous job, and has earned the respect of 99 percent of the residents with whom I have talked.

During the election, I personally visited so-called rallies for both village presidential candidates, and one persistent rumor which kept circulating was that Rick Zirk, if elected, would be "cleaning house" at the police department. I don't suppose this had anything to do with the well-known fact that as private citizens while "off duty" Joswick and Jack Rood (decorated sergeant) were backing Zirk's opponent? Of course not; and it isn't going to rain again the rest of the summer.

James F. Nicoll

Gilberts