WESTVILLE, N.S. – Staff Sgt. Bob Stewart is holstering his hand gun.
For good.
After almost 46 years with the Westville Police Department, Stewart officially retired at the end of July.
“He is a local icon really with the years of service he has in and his dedication,” said Westville Police Chief Don Hussher.
He described Stewart as a keen and dedicated employee who could be relied on for his experience and connections with the community. Hussher said he had a way of being sympathetic and understanding with people which citizens appreciated and he was a man Hussher easily trusted as his deputy.
Stewart, grew up in Westville, and was working at The Evening News when it was located on Provost Street when he heard about an opening at the Westville Police Department and decided to apply. Little did he know it would be the beginning of a life-long career.
While it’s rare for people to stay as long as he has with one department, Stewart always felt comfortable working in his own community.
Working in a small police department often left him dealing with the unexpected. While some days with the police force are quieter, he found over the years that could change quickly. Officers could suddenly be left to deal with a bad situation – often alone until backup arrived.
“You didn’t know what to expect through a shift,” he said.
Over the years he had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of cases and spent time both on patrol and in the office. What he enjoyed most was working with people, both in the public and at the department.
“It is very rewarding,” he said. “I enjoyed working in this area.”
According to Hussher, Stewart was impressive in the way he could keep up to date on changes in the policing world.
“When he was hired on there were no radios and no computers,” he said. “It was strictly community-based policing at its heart,” he said.
While he started with a typewriter, at his retirement, Stewart was maintaining a state-of-the-art case management system on the computer.
As he reflects on his career and the future of policing in Pictou County, Stewart believes it would be in the best interest of the towns to have a joint police force.
While the individual departments, including Westville, do a good job of taking care of their communities, he said, merging departments would allow police officers to work more closely and would improve safety.
Already Westville and Stellarton work closely and know they can call in other departments if needed, but he said that back up takes time to come, which is something a common police force could help resolve.
Stewart doesn’t have any big plans for retirement just yet, but is looking forward to a little more personal time. With a house in Westville though, residents can still expect to see him around.
After all, it’s home for him.
