Promotions follow hitting the books — and streets

Many hours of study and hard work pay off for Manville police officers.

By: Melissa Edmond
   When former Chief of Police John Petrovic announced his retirement in January, several Manville officers knew there would be opportunities for advancement.
   For Officer Ron Gazaway, it meant hitting the books — spending 800 hours studying.
   He studied almost every day from January to early October. He knew if he scored high on three tests, he could get the promotion he wanted so badly.
   "It was a lot of work. A lot of effort went into it and I feel really good," said Sgt. Gazaway, 34, who was previously a detective and has been on the force for 10 years.
   Sgt. Gazaway’s efforts paid off and so did the efforts of Lt. John Crater, Sgt. Michael Guilbert and Lt. Thomas Herbst — who all put in 16-hour days studying and working and who were officially promoted on Oct. 18 at the Borough Council meeting.
   "They’re well-deserving of these promotions," said Chief Mark Peltack. "I know all four officers studied very diligently for the exams. They put their family lives on hold for a good part of the year in order to successfully study."
   Chief Peltack said the four officers scored the best on three tests: a written test in the summer, an oral test in October, and a local interview taken two weeks ago. Chief Peltack would not disclose their individual scores.
   He said the oral test was given by chiefs from the Somerset County Chiefs of Police Association from Bernardsville, Franklin, Warren and Green Brook and the local interview was given by himself and Capt. Mark Sniscak. He said there were four total candidates for lieutenant and 11 candidates for sergeant.
   Lt. Herbst said they had to study five law enforcement related books for the written exam. They were tested with questions concerning general law enforcement, case law, and attorney general guidelines for the oral test.
   The local test added the burden of internal rules and regulations and policies and procedures on top of case law and attorney general guidelines, he said.
   "The test process was extremely challenging and a time consuming studying process but fair, very fair," said Lt. Herbst, 38, who was previously a patrol sergeant and has been on the force for 15 years. He’s served on the Patrol Division and as a detective in the Detective Division. He has been serving as acting administrator supervisor for the past three months.
   "It was very rewarding – I got the promotion," Lt. Herbst, a Bridgewater resident, added.
   Sgt. Guilbert, a 47-year old Manville resident who has been on the force for 24 years, expressed his own relief and happiness with the promotion. Unlike the other officers who started in their new roles on Oct. 19, Sgt. Guilbert is on vacation and will start on Oct. 24.
   This time off is especially well-deserved because he said that during the 10-month studying process there wasn’t any time for them to take vacations except for vacations from work to allow more time for studying.
   "Most of us put our personal lives on hold. That was your whole life for the ten months," he said.
   Lt. Crater, a 42-year-old East Amwell resident, wasn’t available for direct comment.
   Chief Peltack said Lt. Crater was previously a detective sergeant and has been on the force for 16 years. He has served in both the patrol and detective division and has been the detective division supervisor for the past 10 months.
   Lt. Crater and Lt. Herbst, who were previously sergeants, were given a raise of over $10,000 to their new salaries of $106,404.48. Sgt. Gazaway and Sgt. Guilbert, who were previously patrolmen, were given a raise of over $12,000 to their new salaries of $95,641.20.