By Darrell Halen

Two new patrolmen and a new sergeant were recently sworn in at the Pelham Police Department.

Brian Kelly, 24, is from Farmington, Conn. He graduated from Farmington High School in 2002 and earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration four years later. He spent about a year working in purchasing in the steel industry.

Kelly comes from a family with a connection to law enforcement. His father, James, spent about 25 years with the West Hartford, Conn., police department.

Ronald Page, 26, comes from Haverhill, Mass. He graduated from Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School in 2000, and has studied three years at Salem State College.

Page is a corporal in the U.S. Marines. He’s been in the military five years, including eight months in Iraq.

Page and Kelly were officially sworn in by Town Clerk Dorothy Marsden on Wednesday, Dec. 12, in the police station’s training room.

Page and Kelly graduated from the New Hampshire Police Academy in November and are currently going through field training in Pelham with more experienced officers. They should be on the road by themselves in February.

The men were selected from approximately 74 applicants who tested for the positions last summer.

“We feel we’re lucky to have them. They stood out in the process in every way,” said Lt. Brian McCarthy, noting that the men did well in physical and written tests and when they were interviewed by a board of police officers. “(They have) a lot of enthusiasm. They’re excited to be here and are very community-oriented.”

Marsden also swore in Glen Chase, who was promoted from master patrolman to sergeant. A 1993 graduate of Salem High School, Chase joined the department as a patrolman in February, 1999. He earned a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 1997.