A second-generation Vermont State Police officer is the new station commander at the Royalton barracks.
Lt. Roger Farmer, 48, who joined the State Police in 2005, has been named chief of the barracks, replacing the retiring Lt. William Jenkins. Farmer’s father, Ed, served for many years with the State Police and retired in 1991 while stationed in St. Johnsbury.
Also promoted, state police announced Monday, was Lt. Anthony French, who will head the Westminster barracks.
He replaces the retiring Lt. Timothy Oliver, who stepped down after 28 years of service with state police.
Farmer joined the state police at the relatively advanced age of 36 after he had been a graphic designer for 13 years in both Vermont and Montana. Farmer’s father was also station commander in Royalton when it was known as the Bethel barracks, his son said Monday.
After four years in Montana, where he and his wife, Tammy, started their family, they returned to Vermont, where he was a stay-at-home father and ran a graphic design business out of his home. The parents of three children, the couple live in the Randolph area.
Roger Farmer most recently was patrol commander at the Middlesex field station. The man he replaces had been with the state police for 28 years.
French, the new Westminster barracks chief, graduated from the Vermont Police Academy in 1998 and has been with the Vermont State Police for 18 years. He began his career in the Shaftsbury station, then transferred to the Rockingham barracks in 1999. He was promoted to sergeant in 2005 and served in both Rockingham and Royalton until his promotion to head the newly-opened Westminster barracks, which replaced the barracks in both Rockingham and West Brattleboro. French has also served as a member of the Vermont State Police search and rescue team.
French could not be reached for comment Monday.
Farmer said that in addition to the opiate crisis in the state, the Royalton barracks is focusing on traffic control on the state highways and on Interstates 91 and 89.
Farmer said that there are more and more highspeed motorists on the state’s highways, and he said there is a concentrated effort to bring those speeds down.
“Traffic is a big priority right now, with the two interstates. There’s just been an increase in overall interstate speeds. We’re trying to increase our visibility a lot to try and modify speeds,” he said. Today’s modern vehicles and the good condition of the state’s highway are contributing factors to the high speeds, he said, adding that it’s a relatively recent phenomenon.
“ We weren’t seeing that as often,” he said of a recent raft of arrests for people traveling in excess of 100 mph.
“The other big thing is recruiting,” said Farmer. “We’re having difficulty hiring, and it’s a nationwide problem. Ever y stationisgoingtobe involved in recruiting. All of us have to be recruiters in order to reach good candidates,” he said.
susan.smallheer @rutlandherald.com
