Coffee with a Cop introduces new officers

By Gina Hamilton, Wiscassett Newspaper
Original article HERE

Wiscasset Police Chief Larry Hesseltine took the opportunity of the regularly scheduled Coffee with a Cop event to introduce his two new officers – School Resource Officer Cory Hubert and patrol officer Jonathan Barnes.

It was Barnes’ first day on the job. Both officers were set to be sworn in at the Nov. 6 selectmen’s meeting.

Several voters, fresh from casting ballots, stopped to chat with and welcome the officers and enjoy doughnuts and coffee.

Barnes lives in Augusta, but he and his family are considering moving if his wife Angela, a nurse, finds work closer to Wiscasset. “We’d like to be part of the community here,” Officer Barnes said. He and his wife have two children.

Barnes came from the Kennebec Sheriff’s Office, where he worked in corrections. He will train one night per week, to begin Wiscasset-based coverage of the overnight hours.

Barnes, like Hubert, still has to complete Police Academy training. One may begin there in January, the other in August.

“I’ve wanted to be in law enforcement ever since I was a child,” Barnes said. “But the fact that Chief Hesseltine was here made the Wiscasset position very attractive to me, personally.” Hesseltine is very active in Special Olympics, as is Barnes. “My little brother competes in Special Olympics,” Barnes said. “I was looking to work for a community-based police department where that kind of thing is important.”