LETTER: Bob Cook for Shenandoah Mayor
SUBMITTED PHOTO - Bob Cook
The following is a letter submitted by Bob Cook, candidate for Shenandoah Mayor.
Greetings, my name is Bob Cook and I am the Republican candidate for Mayor for the
Borough of Shenandoah.
I was born and raised in Shenandoah and am 72 years old. I graduated from Cardinal Brennan High School Class of 1970. I also attended Brandywine College, Wilmington DE and earned an Associate Degree in Police Science.
My family had several well known businesses in town, Cook’s Confectionery, Cook’s Toys and Cook’s Ceramics, as well as my own martial arts school, Protection Plus Martial Arts. Professionally, I worked in the family businesses from the age of 13 until I left for college.
Later I worked for the Shenandoah Water Company as a laborer and then as an equipment operator for Penn DOT. I was one of the original employees for the Schuylkill County Communications Center-911 where I also acted as the union steward and contract negotiator.
After that and for the next 28 years, I worked as a Security Professional in a number of different capacities. I’ve done private investigations, executive protection in NYC, worked for several rock bands that were on tour, loss prevention agent for 2 major businesses here in Schuylkill County and the list goes on. During that time I was trained by and worked along side Law Enforcement Professionals from Federal, State and Municipal Agencies.
My martial arts career started in February 1968 when I walked into my first martial arts class.
In the 57 years that has followed I’ve been fortunate to have trained with some of the best in the country. The vast majority of my training and all of my focus as a teacher has been geared toward Traditional Martial Arts and the real world protection skills and character development they provide. I developed the HARD Target Program which is an umbrella program offering a number of self-protection workshops such as: Situational Awareness, Anti-Bully/Anti-Abduction for Kids and their Families, Women’s Self-Defense and Self-Defense for Seniors. I was the creator of the DAISHIZEN Festival a twice a year martial arts event that was held in Myrtle Beach and Schuylkill County. This event drew instructors and students from all over the United States and Canada. Although I mostly consider myself retired I still keep my hand in the game by conducting workshops and speak publicly on a variety of related topics including holistic health. Over the years I’ve trained in Acupressure, Hypnosis and other related topics.
In between all of this I managed to spend a year as “Keegan” one for the cohosts along with JZ and Marky on WPPA’s Step Up To The Mic radio talk show.
In speaking to people both as an ordinary citizen and as a mayoral candidate I have come to discover the things that are of concern to a great many people. Based on that and my own concerns I’ve come up with this 5 part platform that will serve as a jumping off point to get things started. It is by no means an exhaustive list but it is a great place to start.
- In order to address the lack of staffing and the ever increasing overtime costs we need a more aggressive recruiting and hiring strategy. For example, visiting and forming a relationship with the schools that offer Act 120 training and certification.
- The Police Station should be more accessible, open to the public with the front desk being handled by a civilian PCO. This is similar to what PSP does. This person could handle some of the more mundane but necessary tasks such as processing tickets.
- All on duty officers will be in uniform and on the street utilizing both mobile and foot patrols, weather permitting. Visibility and community interaction will be a priority.
- Limited time spent in the station unless absolutely necessary. For example, having someone in custody or persons being interviewed, 1 to 2 hours at the end of the shift to do paperwork is recommended.
- Weekly police reports released to the media, with timely press releases when appropriate. I fully support our current borough leadership and the job our Borough Manager Mike Cadau is doing to move things forward. I also enthusiastically endorse our full slate of Republican Borough Council Candidates in this upcoming election!!!
TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY…WORDS TO LIVE BY!!!
Bob Cook
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