Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 8/18/2022
BLANDFORD – Jennifer Dubiel of Huntington has been hired as the new police chief of the Chester-Blandford Police Department, replacing outgoing Chief Tammy Weidhaas. Dubiel was slated to start in her new position on Aug. 17.
Dubiel, a former part-time police chief in Russell for five years who has continued to serve the department, has a career in law enforcement that dates back to her graduation from the Reserve Basic Police Academy in 2007 and the Special State Police Academy in 2009. From 2008 to 2020, she served as a campus police officer for Mount Holyoke College, and in 2020 to 2021 as a campus police sergeant for Smith College.
Born and raised in Russell, Dubiel graduated from Gateway Regional High School. In the past year, she returned to the district as a behavior paraprofessional while on a hiatus from full-time police work, but during her interview in Blandford on Aug. 1, said she missed helping people and missed police work.
“I love being in small towns. I grew up in Russell, and lived there forever,” Dubiel said, adding that since she moved out in her early 20s, she’s lived in a few different places, but being back at Gateway helped her to realize this is where she wants to be.
Asked what her style of leadership will be, Dubiel said she is open, and believes in communication and being available to people.
“Focusing on family and community, to get them behind the Police Department and vice versa. I’d rather see the [local] Police Department in these small towns.
The State Police don’t want to deal with small issues,” Dubiel said, adding, “I believe community policing is exactly where we need to go.”
Dubiel said she thinks the Chester-Blandford Police Department is making good strides forward since the merger of the two towns’ departments three years ago.
“I think there’s a lot of work to do,” she said. She plans to apply for grants to help move the department forward.
The Russell and Montgomery police departments officially merged as of July 1 with the help of a $200,000 grant from the state.
“Regionalization is a huge push in the state. There are so many commonalities. Being able to combine resources is a huge value,” Dubiel said. She added, about the job in general, “I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”
“I would like to say I am very excited to have Jen as our new police chief,” said Chester Select Board member Jason Forgue. “Her combination of professional experience along with community involvement will help continue the focus on community policing all Select Board members present felt to be very important. Jen will have tough shoes to fill, but I believe she is an excellent choice to continue moving our joint police department forward.”