A delayed swearing in was held Tuesday for the police and fire departments in Homewood, making official the hires that were made during quarantine.
Shawn Santos and Daniel Uhlmann took the oath of office as full-time firefighters and paramedics. Alex Denman, Samuel Berrum and Ryan Rasmus were sworn in as police officers.
Santos started as a part-time firefighter in Homewood before taking a full-time position in Markham. He returned to Homewood full-time last June.
Uhlmann, a Flossmoor native and Homewood Flossmoor High School graduate, started his career as a volunteer for the West Peoria fire department. He then worked paid-on-call in Flossmoor. Homewood hired Uhlmann in November.
Denman was hired in August 2020 and attended the Cook County Sheriff’s training academy, completing the 560-hour recruit training course.
Berrum was a community service officer in Homewood from 2017 until 2019. He then attended the metropolitan police training program with the Chicago police department. Homewood hired Berrum full-time in December 2020.
Rasmus, also a Homewood-Flossmoor High graduate, worked in Chicago Heights before attending the CPD metropolitan police training program. He was hired by the village in December.
All three new police officers completed the Homewood police training program in April.
Police Chief Denise McGrath also presented Todd Dorans with a citizenship award. On May 31, Albert Fidanza was reported missing by his family. He has early on-set dementia.
Dorans saw a bulletin published on social media by Homewood police. Later that day, he saw Fidanza riding his bicycle. Dorans guided Fidanza off the road, gave him a bottle of water, contacted police and stayed with him until they arrived.
“This certificate of appreciate is award to Mr. Todd Dorans in recognition of his excellent judgement and swift action which resulted in the safe return of a valued community member to his family,” McGrath said.
Three committee appointments were also approved during the same village board meeting. Marla Youngblood was appointed to the Senior Advisory Committee for a three-year term. Kathy Pagel and Cece Belue were appointed to the Beautification Committee for five years.