‘So far, so good’

By Don Rush

The old saying goes, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” and that too can be said of Tieler Schick.

Schick is the latest addition to the Oxford Village Police Department, having started with the department on March 15.

“Some may say I’ve been in law enforcement all my life, or at least exposed to it. My mom was a police officer which is why I ultimately went into this career,” he said. “I originally started working in law enforcement in 2018 when I graduated from the police academy with the Ogemaw County Sheriff’s Office doing Jail Transport. I started as a Patrol Officer in 2019 with the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians in Petoskey.”

Schick, 27, said over the course of 15 years his mother Rhonda was an officer with the Rose City Police Department and the Ogemaw County Sheriff’s Office.

He said he heard of the Oxford Village Police Department from his friend Brendan Westenbarger. Westenbarger has been with the OVPD since 2022. “I went to school with Brendan. He told me how much he loved the town, and the department which then sold me on giving it a shot. I can say, so far, so good,” Schick said. “I like how it’s a small town, and from what I’ve heard this is a close community. I’ve always been a small town type of person, and with it being so close to so many things to do is really nice. It almost feels like a city to me coming from a town that is only one square mile in the middle of nowhere.”

When asked if he had anything else he would like to share with residents he said, “I just would like to say, ‘hello to you all, and I look forward to getting to know everyone in the community.’”