The Guthrie Center Police Department is officially a two-man operation, though it will only be that way for a few weeks.

Officer Rod Pavelka has essentially been the sole officer on the GCPD staff since he took the job in early November, but he’s excited to officially welcome Brandon Lenehan to the force starting today.  Pavelka does admit though–the addition is “bittersweet.”

“We do get somebody hired but here in just a few short weeks, (Brandon) will be heading back out to get his certification at Hawkeye Tech Community College (in Waterloo), so I will still be by myself until the early part of May.”

Lenehan has a two-year police sciences degree from Hawkeye Tech, but he must go through the school’s shortened police academy in order to receive his official officer certification.

Pavelka says he is eager to have Lenehan on the GCPD staff full-time because it will help ease some of the additional burden he’s taken on since joining the force.  For Pavelka, that burden hasn’t been in the form one might think though.

“The difficult time really hasn’t been working all the hours, it’s been the time apart from the family.  That has been hard on everybody so looking forward to having that over with.  We’re trying to get moved down here and that should happen very soon.  Things will get better then.”

The Guthrie Center Police Department has been a one-man operation for the better part of seven months now.  That will change with Lenehan’s graduation on May 9th.  Pavelka says he expects Lenehan to be fully on-board with GCPD sometime shortly after his graduation.