In May of 2005, the Village of Ostrander Village Council selected several enthusiastic volunteers representing the elected officials and the citizens to help form a police commission of sorts.

This commission of interested citizens sought out an equally enthusiastic outside source to assist them in putting together a proposal as to whether the village could put together a police department with the limited resources they had after almost 10-years of not having one.

I was privileged to receive a telephone call asking for my assistance, although I was not a total stranger to the village and several of the council members I was not well known to most. After meeting with the village representatives and several council meeting later, I was appointed the new Village Marshal or Chief of Police both titles are interchangeable these days.

The progress has been slow we cannot deny this fact but there has been steady progress since May of 2005. As we move forward with our plans we have been busy soliciting input from a wide variety of sources. We have been working hard to build the bridges of teamwork and demonstrate our intensions of becoming a reputable agency within Delaware County.

It is unfortunate that a minor few have decided our extended hand of cooperation, teamwork, and dedication to public safety, as a whole isn't worth their time. As the negative few prejudge and otherwise stay the course of 'old politics' a great number of others have been a pleasure to get to know, sharing ideas and hope for the village's steady progress and growth. We will continue to move forward and we will dedicate our department to a simple yet not a unique concept, and, that concept is "Community Policing".

Over the years this concept has become the "politically correct" catch phrase that grants are written for and newspaper headlines tell of. However most smaller communities grew because their police departments were already practicing this concept from the day of their inceptions. Such communities, in my mind would include Groveport, Obetz, Edison, Mount Gilead and Ashley.

The Ostrander Police Department will be serving the ever-growing community of the Village of Ostrander, which was staked out in 1852 in Southwestern Delaware County, Ohio. The Delaware County Commissioners and others officially recognized the village in 1876. The village is approximately 9.4 miles East of the City of Marysville and 7.6 miles West of the City of Delaware just off of State Route #36. Within recent years, the village, like most of Scioto Township is experiencing a large influx of residential construction projects, and, as a community partner we need to be prepared for the future.

As Chief, I expect anyone associated with this department to assist the current administration in not only building bridges of support in the surrounding communities but also maintaining a mutually beneficial relationship with all area law enforcement.

Yours in public Service,

Jeffrey M Fisher
Chief of Police