District Judge Maggie Snow swore in Solebury’s newest full-time police officer — Larry Grawe Jr. — at the March 19 board of supervisors meeting.
It is a time of arrival and departure in Solebury. The township’s longtime police Chief Dominick Bellizzie is preparing to retire in June after 18 years in Solebury and 48 as an officer.
Officer Grawe Jr. served for 10 years in the Philadelphia Police Department. He is a lifelong Solebury resident and a New Hope-Solebury High School graduate.
His late father — Larry Grawe Sr. — was a policeman for 39 years who worked for the Solebury Township from 1967 until his 2006 retirement, rising to the rank of corporal.
Attending Grawe Jr.’s swearing-in were his mother, Becky Grawe, and his wife, Lauren.
As for Bellizzie, “I’ll say I’m not the easiest guy to work with. I’ll miss the place but after 48 years (in the business) it’s time to go. It’s been good. I want to thank the board. It always supported myself and the officers,” he said.
Chair Mark Baum Baicker said the board is in the process of finding the chief’s successor.
“I have said this many times, my favorite township meetings are those when we get to swear in a new officer or hear about the exceptional performance of our existing officers.
“Tonight we get both. It gives us the opportunity to be around our police families and, of course, Blitz (the police dog), because whether of not you have a sign on your lawn, everyone in Solebury loves our police and a big part of the reason is our chief, Dominick Bellizzie,” Baum Baicker said.
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