Edgar hires two new part-time police officers

New two part-time officers are joining the Edgar Police Department after the village board hired them to fill longstanding vacancies on the local force.

At a special meeting on Aug. 18, after meeting in closed session, the village board voted to hire Slavko Stefanovic as a parttime officer at $20 per hour. Stefanovic, who has over eight years of experience in law enforcement, had been working Fox Crossing Police Department as a patrol office and previously worked for the Fremont Police Department and the UW-Stevens Point Police Department. He will begin working in Edgar in early September.

At another special board meeting on Aug. 25, trustees voted to hire Ronald J. (R.J.) Knetter, a 2021 graduate of Edgar High School who earned his degree in law enforcement from Northcentral Technical College. After working for the Everest Metro Police Department, Knetter changed careers to work in information technology and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in IT from Western Governors University.

The board approved a starting salary of $18 per hour for Knetter.

A full-time police chief, Zachary Zaug, started working in Edgar at the beginning of the year, and he assisted the board in finding part-time officers in order to provide additional coverage.