2018 year in review: Two local police departments have new chiefs

Two local police departments faced difficult decisions this year, namely, what to do after the retirement of one police chief, and the unexpected death of another.

Earlier this year, Rick Weaver stepped down from his position as Tamaqua chief of police, a role he’d filled since 2013. Five years before his retirement, Weaver had entered the Deferred Retirement Option Plan. His official retirement date was set for March 1, 2018.

Following Weaver’s retirement, the Tamaqua Borough Council considered dissolving the full-time police chief’s position into a part-time chief or commissioner, but decided against it, after a standing-room-only crowd made their voices heard during a borough meeting.

“Our public does not want this, and I don’t believe our police department wants this either,” Tamaqua Mayor Nathan Gerace said in April.

So in June, the borough appointed Cpl. Henry Woods, a 27-year veteran of the department, as the new police chief. He was amid four others considered for the position.

Rush Township experienced a transition of its own.

In June, Ken Zipovsky, who was already police chief of Mahanoy City, was appointed as Rush’s new top cop.

Zipovsky was named police chief at a special meeting held June 4, after the unexpected death of former township police Chief Joseph E. Lipsett III. His agreement spans until Dec. 31, 2023.