Three months after a new police chief took over, Plainsboro has a new fire chief as well. Doug Vorp stepped down on December 31 after completing three years at the helm. The township’s new chief, who was recognized by Deputy Mayor Neil Lewis at the committee meeting on Wednesday, January 11, is James Pedley, a longtime resident of Perrine Road.
Pedley grew up in Floral Park, New York, and eventually became a member of the Floral Park Fire Company for two years. He moved to Plainsboro in 1997 after taking a job in Iselin. A year later he joined the Plainsboro Fire Company, becoming a lieutenant in 2001.
“I just worked my way up from there,” he said.
By day Pedley works as post-sales consultant for Seattle-based F5 Networks, He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Polytechnic University and became a computer engineer in the mid 1990s, eventually working for Princeton eCom from 1999 to 2006.
Pedley’s wife is a psychometrician, and the family is raising three daughters in Plainsboro. Pedley’s father worked in electrical maintenance while his mother, who still lives in Floral Park, retired from working as an executive administrative assistant.
It was Pedley’s paternal grandfather who sparked his interest in firefighting as he was a fireman in Eastern Long Island decades ago. Positive aspects of the job drew him to it.
“I got into firefighting because I wanted to help people and expand my knowledge,” Pedley says.
Pedley has held all of the following positions with Plainsboro Fire: deputy chief, assistant chief, captain, 1st lieutenant, 2nd lieutenant, training officer, and computer chairperson, where he led the department’s website design and created its Windows network.
Pedley also volunteered with the Plainsboro Rescue Squad from 2004 up until last summer. Over the years he served as the squad’s second lieutenant, scheduling officer, and radio officer.
#b#Plainsboro Hires a New Police Officer#/b#
As Plainsboro prepares for the opening of the new hospital — the $447 million University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro — the police department will add slightly more shifts and personnel. One new hire was introduced this week, and Police Chief Guy Armour said another police officer will be added to the force after the hospital opens.
The successful candidate from a pool of 200 applicants was Kevin Schroeck, who was sworn in at the township committee meeting on Wednesday, January 11. His mother, father, and two sisters attended the ceremony as did Armour and four other members of the Plainsboro Police.
Schroeck (pronounced Shrek) is a 2009 graduate of the College of New Jersey. He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology followed by police academy training in early 2010 at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor. Schroeck then completed internships with the Lawrenceville Police Department and New Jersey State Police.
Over the past two years Schroeck has worked as a substitute teacher in Montgomery, covering all classes from kindergarten to 12th grade. He comes from a family full of educators, including one in the WW-P school district. His twin sister Katlyn is a third grade teacher at Wycoff Elementary School in Plainsboro.
Schroeck’s older sister, Kimberly, is a fifth grade teacher at Montgomery Middle School. His mother Dawn works as a teacher’s aide at Montgomery High School. Schroeck’s father Ray has spent his career at Anheuser-Busch’s brewery in Newark, serving as a supervisor and manager of beer packaging and shipping technical services.
