Polacek looks to give back to community, control spending on Pascoag Fire Commission

0
860

BURRILLVILLE – A police and fire dispatcher for the town of Burrillville with a strong background in education is seeking a seat on the Pascoag Fire Commission, in hopes to use her background to benefit both the taxpayers of the fire district and members of the department.

Born and raised in Burrillville, Kathleen Polacek is the daughter of the late Ann (Fagan) Polacek and Thomas Polacek, and granddaughter of the late Dr. Veronica Barrett Fagan and William Fagan. Polacek has resided in Pascoag for the past 46 years.

Polacek obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in education from Notre Dame College in Manchester, N,H. She currently is employed by the Warwick School Department as a special educator, where she has worked for the past 17 years. Polacek is currently teaching in a co-taught first grade classroom as a special educator.

She is a member of the American Federation of Teachers, and has also worked as a part- time/full-time police and fire dispatcher for the town of Burrillville for the past 11 years. Polacek was a former volunteer firefighter/EMT-Cardiac for the Pascoag Fire Department and a member of Hose Company 1. She is also currently the treasurer for the Pascoag Utility Department.

Polacek said she is running for the fire commissioner to give back to her community, to the taxpayers of the Pascoag Fire District, as well as the men and women of the Pascoag Fire Department, Companies 1 and 2.

“Priorities to address are to control spending, reduce overtime costs, work to make the district transparent and increase volunteer personnel,” Polacek said in a release on her platform. “Other areas to address are to tighten up, develop and implement policies and procedures, accountability and maintain the integrity of the department.”

Polacek said her intentions are for the best interest of the district and its’ taxpayers, and that her strengths include working with others, multi-tasking and bringing opposing parties together to have a mutual respect for each other. She noted that she also has a strong background in budgeting, writing guidelines, problem solving and researching grant writing.

Polacek noted that she currently has no family members working or volunteering for the Pascoag Fire District.

Other individuals who have declared their intent to run for the board include Chris Toti, Carmela White, Vincent Micucci, Cindy Lussier and Chris Watson.

The election will be held at the district’s annual meeting on Sept. 9 starting at 7 p.m. at the station at 141 Howard Ave. All residents of the district, or those taxed by the PFD, are eligible to vote.

NRI NOW is offering all candidates for the commission the opportunity to discuss their background and platform. Interested parties should email sandy@nrinow.news.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Oh hi there 👋
It’s nice to meet you.

Sign up to receive awesome content in your inbox, every week.

We don’t spam!

Leave a Reply