IN Canon-Mac Winter 2016 | Page 64

North Strabane Township Police Department NO R TH STR ABA N E TO WNS H IP NE WS or th Strabane The North Strabane Township Police Department hired two police officers in September. Benjamin Huminsky was born and raised in Plano, Texas. He attended Plano West Senior High School and was the captain of the varsity lacrosse team and an Eagle Scout. He received a fouryear Army ROTC to Stephen F. Austin State University. After his freshman year, he transferred his scholarship to the University of Arizona. Ben enjoyed playing lacrosse for the university and earned his Bachelor of Arts in History and a minor in Military Science. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in the US Army. Ben was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia for his Infantry Basic Officer Leader Course training. He was then assigned to Fort Hood, Texas, where he would become a platoon leader with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. He was an infantry platoon leader for 15 months and had the honor of being a tank company executive officer for 19 months. He served as the assistant operations officer for his remaining months in the Army. Ben met his wife, Cory, while in the Army and moved to North Strabane upon his discharge. Ben has pursued a career in law enforcement. He attended the Allegheny County Police Training Academy and had the honor of being a squad leader. He received the Allegheny County Association of Chiefs Award for Most Likely to Succeed. He graduated from the academy in June of 2016. Abigail France was born and raised in Washington County. She enjoyed playing soccer and graduated from ChartiersHouston High School. After high school, Abigail earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Pre-Law from California University. Her lifelong dream was to become a police officer. She decided to take one more step to fulfill that dream by attending the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Police Academy. In 2012, she graduated and was named valedictorian of her graduating class. For the past three years, she was employed as a police officer with the McDonald Borough Police Department. In addition, she worked as a seasonal officer for the Hanover Township Police Department. In her spare time, Abigail enjoys spending time with family, playing soccer, fishing, and yoga. This past October, Abigail celebrated her wedding with husband, Richard. The North Strabane Township Police Department had two major promotions this year. Sergeant Kris Wagstaff was promoted to the position of Lieutenant. Lieutenant Wagstaff has over 20 years of police experience and is now second in command at the Police Department. 62 Canon-Mac Officer Matthew Mancini was promoted to Sergeant. Sergeant Mancini has over 17 years of police experience and has worked as the Department’s K-9 Officer for the past two years. Sergeant Mancini now supervises one of the four patrol squads.