Officer joins Amherst department

EDITOR’S NOTE: Around the Towns, which typically runs Saturdays, appears in the Friday edition of The Telegraph this week because there will be no Saturday paper.

AMHERST – The town’s newest police officer came on board this week and is currently getting up to speed, Chief Peter Lyon said Tuesday.

Selectmen, at Monday’s meeting, unanimously approved the hiring of Sarah Arnold, 24, who has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of New Hampshire and is pursuing a master’s at Suffolk University.

Arnold, who has been working as a clerk at the Hooksett Police Department while attending Suffolk, is getting accustomed to Amherst through field training – ride-alongs with other officers – and plans to attend the New Hampshire Police Academy in August, Lyons said.

She will fill one of two full-time positions left vacant by recent departures, Lyons said, adding that he is currently working on filling the other.

Arnold was chosen from a field of 24 applicants for the position, Lyons said.