Zone 17
No. 14 Vol. 19
New View Media Group • 1-800-691-7549
September 11, 2018
Montville Twp. Police Explorers Lock Up Third-Place At National Competition
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By Steve Sears he Montville Township Police Explorers Post 805 won three third-place trophies at their national competition on July 21 in West Lafayette, Ind. The awards were for crime scene investigation, officer down emergency first aid and traffic stops scenarios. Those who made the biennial trip this year are Explorer Captain Alexander Benno, Explorer Lieutenant Peter Gruca, Explorer Sergeant Dennis Villani, Explorer Sergeant Ethan Mersing, Explorer Sergeant Joseph Cirkus, Explorer Corporal Mira Sapozhnikov, Explorer Corporal Kyle Cooney and Explorer Antony Schullman. Patrolman Dominick Danzi, who is in currently in charge of the program with fellow Patrolman Mike Cooney, a former explorer, describes the program.
“The Program is at least 30 years old,” says Danzi, “started to help young people and also give them chance to experience police work and community service. It’s open to all youths 14 years of age or out TEASE SALON of eighth grade. To join they just need to make a commitment to the program and Is A One on One Treatment must be interested in all the community from Start to Finish. events.” We Block Out The Background Danzi also expresses pride in the thirdSo We Can Focus On Your Hair. place finishes. “It’s a testament to how hard they trained and was well deserved as they competed with over 5,000 thouB A Y A L A G E & sand contestants. I am very proud of all them.” C O L O R S P E C I A L I S T Gruca explains about the trip prepara208 Myrtle Ave • Boonton tion. 973.588.7111 “Every two weeks we have a meeting,” www.TeaseSalonNj.com he says. “We train in one of the many sceFollow us on Facebook @TeaseSalonNj narios we will compete in, and everything Instagram @TeaseSalonNj is just a huge buildup to the actual confer-
ence.” As to how challenging it was, Gruca says, “The actual scenarios are actually quite challenging and a lot of them are really adrenaline-filled. We had a burglary in progress scenario where the suspect was actually hidden in a series of dorm rooms and the lights were off, so it was really pretty adrenaline-packed. It’s probably like something an officer goes through in a police academy.” Gruca, who is 20 and has been in the program for three years but soon will graduate the program due to the age ceiling of 21, speaks of its value to the community and his life. “Besides the actual law enforcement training, there is the community service aspect,” says Gruca. “I was looking to fill up my resume with community service, but afcontinued on page 2