The retirement of Strasburg Borough Police Chief Steven Echternach and the swearing-in of his successor, Nick Ferretti, on Jan. 12 was a historic occasion for the obvious reason. The presence of Bob Ham made it doubly so.

"Between Bob Ham and I, you had 50 years of (serving as police chief)," Echternach explained, emphasizing the rarity of that longevity of service.

Ham led the department from 1970 to 2002, when Echternach replaced him. Echternach, whose family has lived in the Strasburg area for more than two centuries, had worked as a paramedic, was a member of the Strasburg Fire Company, and served in the Army National Guard. When he decided to leave the emergency medical services, he joined the police department and later attended the police academy.

Meanwhile, Ferretti's parents moved to Strasburg in 1955, and he grew up in the borough. In 1987, he began spending time at the police station with Ham and a young Officer Echternach. Ham offered him a job, and he completed police training in 1988.

Over the years, both Echternach and Ferretti developed as officers and community leaders. Echternach graduated from the FBI National Academy, earned professional emergency manager certification from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, and chaired the Lancaster County Police Chiefs' Information Technology Committee. He has also served as coordinator of the Strasburg Regional Emergency Management Center, which covers the borough and Strasburg Township, and was a member of the South Central Task Force All-Hazards Incident Management Team and the Radio Advisory Committee to Lancaster County-Wide Communications.

"(Community service) has always been something our department has promoted," Echternach said.

Ferretti concurred, noting that he coached youth baseball teams along with Echternach and another officer a number of years ago.

Additionally, Ferretti has served as president, vice president, and board member for the Strasburg Lions Club, and he is the president of the Strasburg Jaycee Park Auxiliary. He attended the FBI's South Central Investigative School and completed the Pennsylvania State Police Leadership Development Program. He also founded and administers the Strasburg Police Scholarship Fund.

Although Echternach has retired from the police department, he has not left the building. The police station is located at the rear of 145 Precision Ave., Strasburg, and the borough office is at the front. Echternach had been simultaneously serving as chief and borough manager since July, when previous manager Lisa Boyd retired. He will now focus solely on managing the day-to-day operations of the borough.

As the new chief, Ferretti plans to continue running the department in the direction Echternach established. His major task will be to complete the requirements for the state accreditation process, which the department began at the end of 2018. .

The Strasburg Borough Police Department office number is 717-687-7128, but as it is not staffed full-time, Ferretti recommended calling the dispatch number, 717-664-1180, for non-emergency inquiries. For more information, readers may also visit https://strasburgpd.org.

Municipal resources for borough residents are available at http://www.strasburgboro.org, or readers may call the office at 717-687-7732.