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WELLSVILLE -- Ed Wilson admits that it was always his dream to serve his community as police chief, and he finally got that opportunity five years ago.
Wilson is most appreciative of Mayor Nancy Murray's decision to make him the permanent appointment to the chief position, after he served more than a year as the village's acting police chief as her predecessor and the then-village council was embroiled in conflict.
Then the police lieutenant, Wilson had been serving as the acting police chief after then-chief Joe Scarabino died in 2014.
It was under Mayor Murray's initial days in office that Wilson finally became official as Scarabino wanted. After the last council "yes" vote made it official, the crowd in council chambers erupted in applause. Media coverage of that day cites Wilson as saying, "I feel relief for the whole town. I think the whole town has had enough, and it's time to pull together ... and stop what we had going on."
Then-Columbiana County Municipal Court Judge Chris Amato, who now oversees the county's public defender program, swore Wilson in, a day that Wilson remembers like it was yesterday.
It had been a long road for Wilson, who used to be the youngest guy here on the force when he started more than 40 years in Wellsville.
Before starting as a part-time auxiliary patrolman in Wellsville, where he graduated from his hometown's high school's class of 1976, Wilson said he worked in construction before.
"My father had been a mechanic who worked in the mill, and I also learned mechanics from him," Wilson remembered as he discussed helping to work on buildings like the Columbiana County Career and Technical Center and Timberlanes as well as a part-time police gig in Cadiz for around a dozen years. He left the Cadiz job when he took the full-time patrolman job in Wellsville, while continuing to do construction on the side after going to the police academy at Jefferson Technical College.
He is complimentary of his Jeff Tech time, where classes were often taught by beat cops with real world experience. "You can throw all of that stuff away from the textbook," Wilson added.
Some of his favorite times in his law enforcement career came from outside Wellsville's village borders. For example, Wilson was a few of the lucky ones who were entrusted to work security for the Columbiana County Fair. "I actually took my vacation time to do it, and it was great public relations."
Wilson's son Ed Jr. handles most of the construction work these days, and the police chief said that most of his time is dedicated to police work, taking care of a few cattle and making hay.
Looking back on those five years, Chief Wilson is appreciative of not only Mayor Murray's willingness to recommend him for the permanent police chief job but also for hands off approach most of the time. "I am pretty much allowed to do what is needed, and she allows me to run my department. Sure, we could use more money, but I think things are going well," Wilson concluded, "She doesn't try to be a police officer, and I want to help Wellsville be a better place to live."