Cecil Supervisors Hire New Police Officer

Cecil supervisors on Tuesday hired Michael Parry as the new full-time police officer in Cecil—as recommended by Police Chief John Pushak. Parry was one of 64 applicants who began the multiple-step process.

The process included a physical agility test, a written exam before an oral interview was held for the top 11 candidates. Of the 11, Pushak presented the board with the top three choices at that point, and then recommended Parry for hire.

Parry is a life-long Cecil resident and has served as an officer in Donora for two and a half years. Parry tested for the position in 1998 and was among the top five who tested.

“I would have felt comfortable hiring any of the top three. There was only a 1.11-percent difference among the three's scores, but I feel that Mr. Parry would best fit the police department at this particular time,” Pushak said.

Pushak said that one great advantage Parry offers is not needing as much time to learn the roads, because he already knows them as a resident. Another advantage is his familiarity with the computer system because it is the same one he used as an officer in Donora. According to Pushak, this will save money and time in the training process.

“I got to sit in on the interviews and watch how it was done. All the questions that were asked were asked the same to every candidate. It was made very fair as far as I was concerned,” said Supervisor Andy Schrader.

Although Schrader felt the interview process was fair, one resident questioned if Parry really had an unfair advantage over the other two candidates.

After being pushed for an answer, Pushak said that while no family background check had been conducted, he believes Parry is the nephew of Supervisor Tom Casciola.

Casciola was not present at the regular meeting after becoming ill and leaving during the public hearing earlier in the evening.

“I want the board to realize that should not denigrate Mr. Parry's accomplishments. He did test back in 2008 and came in the top five with no experience at all," Pushak said. "He is the only one of the three candidates that has any experience with testing with us. He is well qualified,” said Pushak.

Board Chairman Mike Debbis expressed in response to the claim that he “likes hiring local people.”