Ingrid Mezo

(12/15) Two new police officers are slated to join the Thurmont Police Department after graduation from the Maryland Police Corrections Training Commission today.

The addition of two more officers will help cut down on overtime the department’s five officers are now working to provide 24-hour coverage for the town.

The starting salary for new officers is $28,000, Chief Greg Eyler said. The new officers will work four 10-hour shifts, which include evening, night and dayshifts.

Officer Mark DeBord has a background in public relations and worked for NASA before opening his own agency, which he has since sold.

DeBord grew up in Huntington, W.Va., and attended Shepherd University, where he met his wife, Carol. The DeBords have two children and live in New Market.

‘‘I’ve always wanted to be a police officer,” DeBord said.

Debord looks forward to working with the Thurmont police department, where he will have close contact with town residents, he said.

Officer Bradley Koenig served as a police corrections officer in the U.S. military, and graduated from Walkersville High School in 1999. He said becoming a police officer has been a lifelong ambition for him.

Koenig applied to work for the Thurmont Police Department rather than a larger agency such as the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office because ‘‘it’s a more community-oriented agency,” he said. ‘‘You have more contact with people in the community, and you are in charge of your own investigations. There are a lot more opportunities for education.”

Once DeBord and Koenig come on board, three out of 12 positions on the Thurmont Police department will still need to be filled. Chief Eyler is in the process of selecting two more officers to fill the vacancies, he said during the Dec. 6 town meeting.

Late last year, the town considered closing down its police department due to problems maintaining staff members. But town residents overwhelmingly supported keeping the town’s police force during a public meeting last January.

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