While Evans City has finalized disbanding its regional police department, the former chief of the Evans City-Seven Fields Regional Police Department will continue to remain in uniform.

Sort of.

In Thursday’s Eagle, staff writer Austin Uram wrote of borough plans to create a new position: director of public safety.

The position will be filled by Joe McCombs, who has been a police presence in Seven Fields since 1990.

Cheri Deener-Kohan, council president, said the position would “evaluate possible solutions” for future police protection in the borough.

“And it’s keeping our options open — because he is still a ‘policeman,’ he can do some of the police duties that we need,” she said “It leaves it open, and we’re looking maybe down the road at adding a part-time officer that needs an extra shift.”

McCombs said he landed his first job “fresh out of the academy” with the Evans City Police Department in 1990. That same year, he was hired by the Jackson Township Police Department. Both jobs were part-time.

McCombs also is a lifetime member of the Evans City Volunteer Fire Department with 25 years of service, including eight years as an active firefighter from 1982 to 1990.

He said his time as an active firefighter ended after he and his wife, Lisa, who have now been married for 30 years, started having children. His three daughters, Baylee of Charlestown, S.C., and Kenzie and Payton, who live in Evans City, are now adults.

He also has helped raise money for Shriners Hospitals for Children and EDCO Park, and he has coached youth football and softball in Evans City.

Last year, he was named a Hometown Hero by the Evans City Rotary.

Longtime friend and neighbor Ed Tanski, owner of Buttercup Woodlands Campground in Renfrew, nominated McCombs for the Hometown Heroes honor.

“It’s always been fun watching him going through life,” Tanski said. “He’s always been looked up to and respected. He’s just one of those gentlemen you always liked to be around.”

We applaud Seven Fields for recognizing the talent of this dedicated member of the community by keeping him in service.

More importantly, we applaud Joe McCombs — again — for his ongoing commitment to the community. He is a constant in an ever-shifting landscape.

— RJ

Joe McCombs