Corporal Cooke promoted to sergeant
BY MARK ROSMAN
Staff Writer

ENGLISHTOWN - Cpl. Peter Cooke, who has been a full-time member of the Englishtown Police Department since January 2001, was promoted to the rank of sergeant on July 25.

Cooke, a resident of the borough and the husband of Borough Councilwoman Lori Cooke, began his service with the police department as a special officer before he joined the department on a full-time basis more than six years ago.

According to Police Chief John Niziolek, Cooke will continue to go on regular patrols in the borough and assume supervisory duties over patrol officers on weekends.

"Sgt. Cooke is a very capable officer," Niziolek said. "In addition to his work here at the police department he is a member of the Englishtown Fire Depart-ment and he is the borough's emergency management coordinator. He has excellent skills on documentation and paperwork, and he trains our other officers on the state computer system."

Cooke's promotion to sergeant fills a position that had been vacant for several years.

Niziolek, who started working in Englishtown as a sergeant/acting chief in 1989, was promoted to the rank of chief in November 1990. He said the department's officers have a good rapport with residents and business owners and said his officers will continue to cultivate those personal relationships that characterize a smalltown police force.

The chief said there has been an increase in calls for service as a result of new businesses in town, but he noted there has not been a significant increase in crime. He said residents who know the police officers feel comfortable reporting a problem when one does arise.

The other members of the police department are Sgt. Richard Settele, who has patrol and supervisory duties and has been with the force since February 1994; Patrolman First Class Trevor Martinson, Patrolman First Class Michael Macinnes, Patrolman Daniel Chernavsky, Patrolman Alexander DiNicola and Patrolman Robert Stolte.

Englishtown has a total area of 0.57 square miles and is completely surrounded by Manalapan. According to a Mon-mouth County Planning Board estimate from August 2006, Englishtown has 1,885 residents in just under 700 households.