Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • October 23, 2013 Wyckoff Two police veterans honored by township by John Koster The Wyckoff Township Committee joined Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox in honoring two recently retired police officers who logged a combined half-cen- tury of service to Wyckoff. The event was part of the Oct. 15 township committee meeting. Former Sergeant Robert MacKay came on board in 1982 and former Wyckoff Patrolman Andrew Poremba joined the force in 1985. Both retired some weeks ago. Chief Fox -- who was a patrolman when Donald Sta- pleton was Wyckoff’s police chief -- remembered writing a letter of commendation for Poremba to Chief Stapleton. The original letter was tucked into a box and given to Poremba along with a hand- some plaque embellished with a police badge. When Poremba was on the job for only three weeks, he helped seize a suspect who had broken away when then- Patrolman Fox tried to hand- cuff the suspect for an arrest. Fox and Poremba pri- vately shared a good-natured chuckle when neither of them could remember the nature of the charges, but Chief Fox said fugitive suspects were not a laughing matter most of the time. “The police profession is a dangerous profession, even in a safe town like Wyckoff,” said Chief Fox, who once had to club a motorist into submis- sion with a heavy-duty flash- light when the man -- now serving an extended prison term -- grabbed for Fox’s holstered service weapon and admitted in court that Former Sergeant Robert intended to kill Fox if he got Rudy Boonstra his hands on the gun. “Anything can happen, even in a community like this one,” Fox added. “I’m just happy that Andy and Bob made it through all their shifts.” Wyckoff also joined other towns in a road-race take- down of multiple armed robbers at a jewelry store a few years ago, and has gone through several other car chases with robbers and thieves from outside the community, and a recent spate of hard narcotics arrests and the usual run of auto accidents, DWI offenses, burglaries from parked cars, and phone scams. Sergeant MacKay served as a DARE officer teach- ing youngsters about the dangers of drugs and premature exposure to alcohol. He is also a CPR instructor. He spent MacKay, former Patrolman Andrew Poremba, and Mayor much of his career in the Wyckoff Traffic Bureau, which has won regular awards for traffic safety from the Auto- mobile Association of America. Patrolman Poremba served as a street and traffic patrolman and served for many years as fleet manager for Wyckoff’s police patrol cars. Both officers, Fox said, received many letters of praise from residents for their efficiency and their compassion in assisting injured or troubled residents. Mayor Rudy Boonstra and the members of the town- ship committee joined Chief Fox and the friends and relatives of the two retired officers in applauding their service.