September 21, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES I & II • Page 13 Police department to have father-son team From left: Det. Sgt. Douglas Moore, Councilman Don Sciolaro, Kyle Moore, Michael Coletta and Chief Mark Messner. The Waldwick Police Department now has a father-son team among its ranks with the recent appointment of Kyle Moore, a lifelong resident and graduate of Waldwick High School. His father is Det. Sgt. Douglas Moore, a 21-year veteran of the department. The borough council last week also appointed Michael Coletta, a veteran of the Maplewood and Paterson police departments, to the force, which now numbers 19. The force was down to 17, following the retirement of Det. Sgt. Kevin Smith in January and Officer Pat Logue in June. “We’re very excited to have the new officers. It’s good to be at full strength, and it will be more cost effective on the road,” commented Chief Mark Messner. “We’ll be able to be more proactive and do things we can’t do when we are very short all the time,” he added. The two men were selected from a list of 24 applicants: 18 from the state “Rice list” (made up of recently laid-off officers) and six from the Civil Service-eligible list. Moore received the #1 ranking for all Waldwick applicants in the State of New Jersey Civil Service Commission’s 2010 Law Enforcement Examination. Messner said the father/son relationship was discussed but was determined not to be a deterrent to Moore’s hiring. “Both father and son have a good work ethic. The apple did not fall far from the tree in this case, in my view. And Kyle has a sports background and good team experience,” the chief said. “I am very proud of Kyle and how hard he has worked to achieve his goal of becoming a police officer,” said Det. Sgt. Moore. “One thing that I stressed to him is that he should choose a career that will enable him to look forward to going to work every day. I have thoroughly enjoyed over 21 years with the department, and over that time, I think it became apparent to Kyle that a career in law enforcement can be very exciting and personally rewarding.” “I chose to follow in his footsteps because I have always looked up to him and his fellow officers. I have a great amount of respect for them and the profession itself,” said the new recruit, adding: “I truly appreciate the opportunity to serve the town that I was born and raised in. I have great pride in Waldwick and I am excited to do my part in protecting the town.” Moore played football and was the captain of the baseball team at Waldwick High and studied criminal justice and was a member of the baseball team at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, which he attended for two years. For the past two years he has worked as a part-time dispatcher for the Ho-Ho-Kus Police Department. Coletta was born and raised in Haledon and graduated from Passaic County Technical School. He started his law enforcement career in 2005 with the Haledon Police Department as a special police officer and dispatcher. In 2009 he was hired as a police officer with the Maplewood Police Department and attended the Essex County Police Academy. After only six months he was laid off due to budget cuts, and was quickly hired as a police officer with the City of Paterson, only to be laid off two years later due to budget cuts. He served in the patrol division and most recently in the quality of life crimes division, and is a certified Police Academy Instructor. He also holds certifications in School Resource Officer, Gang Awareness, and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement. He resides in Haledon with his wife, Wanda, and their daughter Kayla. Coletta and Moore’s positions became effective Sept. 19, at a salary of $37,907. Messner said Coletta would undergo an abbreviated training program and should be on the road in about one month. Moore will attend the Passaic County Police Academy followed by a two-month field training program and should be road-worthy by June, he said.