New officers fix Monessen police shortage

By EMILY BENNETT DILULLO

ebennett@yourmvi.com

Four new police officers have started their rounds as full-time patrolmen for the City of Monessen. Of the four hires, two are women and three have military experience. 

Jenna Haniotakis, 25, of South Park; Alan Hritz, 33, of Rostraver Township; Rebekah Shrader, 33, of Belle Vernon; and James Stoken, 26, of Brownsville have all officially joined the squad full-time. All were previously employed as part-timers and received promotions. Haniotakis and Shrader are Monessen’s first female full-time officers. 

The hirings came after tension concerning a shortage of full-time patrolmen for the city. The situation prompted Lt. Dave Yuhasz, who serves as the police department’s union steward, to reach out to council for assistance last month. His efforts resulted in the passing of three motions related to the police department, which included the promotion of the four officers. 

“I’m happy we finally got some help,” Yuhasz said. “It was so constant, but now we can help the communities better. We finally have a little bit of relief to follow up now.” 

To read the rest of this story, please see a copy of Monday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at https://e.monvalleyindependent.com.