A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERSOF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
July 21, 2016
C
ANTON
Command officials retire
from Canton police, fire
Canton Township Deputy
PoliceChiefDebraNewsome
andBattalionFireChiefWendy
Stevens have both announced
their retirements from their
respectivedepartments.
Newsomewas hired by the
policedepartment in 1991 as a
patrolofficer.Shewaspromoted
to the rank of sergeant in 2002,
lieutenant in 2009 and deputy
chief in 2013.Newsome earned
her bachelor'sdegree from the
UniversityofDetroitand isalso
a graduate of the Eastern
MichiganUniversityPoliceStaff
&CommandSchool.Earlyonas
apolice officer,Newsomepar-
ticipated in numerous special
units includingDARE, the bicy-
cle unit, and department
instructor.She also spent time
servingasadetectiveandas the
Community
Relations
Coordinator for thedepartment.
Newsomeiscreditedwithestab-
lishing the department Sex
OffenderTrackingProgramand
theChildAbuseTaskForce.Asa
patrolshiftcommander,shewas
responsible for thedaily opera-
tion of roadpatrol shifts,while
alsoassumingon-goingadminis-
trative tasksandprojects.Inher
current role as deputy chief,
Newsome has supervised the
StaffOperationsDivision con-
sisting of theDetectiveBureau,
OrdinanceEnforcementUnit,
Special
Services,
and
Department Training. Most
recently,Newsome is credited
as liaison for thenewpartner-
shipwithFirstStep,adomestic
violenceadvocacyprogram.
Stevens was hired by the
department in 1992 as a fire-
fighterandwaspromoted to the
rank of captain andBattalion
Chief in 2013.Stevens received
herparamedic licenseaftersuc-
cessfully completing an intense
courseprovided toCanton fire-
fighters in 1999, the year the
department converted itsemer-
gency medical service from
Basic toAdvancedLifeSupport.
Stevens is a recent graduate of
the
Eastern
Michigan
University's Fire Staff &
CommandSchool.Throughout
hercareer,Stevenshasprovided
exceptional firefighting and
emergencymedical service to
the community, officials said.
Shewasanactiveparticipanton
the department Awards
Committee and Apparatus
Committee,and iscreditedwith
initiating the newly-formed
departmentHonorGuard. In
her role as battalion chief,
Stevens ran thedaily operation
ofherassigned shiftcomprising
18 Firefighter/ Paramedics
responding to emergency calls
for service from three fire sta-
tions.Shewas also responsible
for thedevelopmentof subordi-
nate personnel and a new
employeetrainingprogram.
Stevens is both the first
female firefighter hired in
Canton, aswell as the first to
achieveretirementstatus.
“The
Public
Safety
Department is losing two valu-
ablemembers of the organiza-
tion thismonth,” saidPublic
SafetyDirector JoshuaMeier.
“DebandWendybothmade sig-
nificant contributions to the
organization and to theCanton
community.Theirpresencewill
benotablymissed.”
DeputyPoliceChief
DebraNewsome
BattalionFireChief
WendyStevens
The third annualRally on
Ridge atPreservationPark is
planned for 6:30-8:30 p.m. July
26.
The event is an evening of
food, fun,music and entertain-
ment to benefit the Canton
FarmersMarket.
Severalpopulargourmet food
trucksalongwith livemusicand
lawngamesandchildren'sactivi-
ties at Cherry Hill School.
Entertainment is sponsored this
year by theRegnerGroup of
EdwardJones.
PreservationPark is located
at500N.RidgeRoad.Thisyear's
entertainment is sponsored by
theRegnerGroup ofEdward
Jones.
Rally on Ridge planned
On the job
TheCanton PoliceDepartmentwelcomed its newest police offi-
cer, Gregory Warnecke, right, to the department last Monday,
when he took his oath of officewith his family in attendance.All
new police officers inCanton are required to successfully com-
plete a 16-week instructor-led field training program, prior to
workingon theirown.Thisprogram isdesigned toorientateand
develop recruit officers,maximizing their potential and providing
themwith the toolsnecessary tosuccessfullymake the transition
into their new position as a Canton police officer, according to
DeputyChiefScottHilden,picturedat right.
