By Mary Drier
Staff Writer
UNIONVILLE — Bill Owens recently gave up one of several public service hats he has worn over the years: fireman, law enforcement officer, and an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
For being on the ACW-Unionville Fire Department for more than 25 years, Bill Owens received an engraved watch from the Unionville Village Council when he retired.
Owens, 60, recently, retired from the ACW-Unionville Fire Department with more than 25 years of service. For his dedication, the Unionville Village Council gave him an engraved watch.
He started with the fire department in 1988. He was teaching first aid and CPR classes when the head instructor for the county asked him to take some firefighter classes to teach him how to wear fire fighting gear and how to use equipment.
He has taken several other firefighter training classes since then, especially when the focus on how fires were fought changed. Firefighter training changed to focus on departments becoming incident command systems, handling not only fires, but natural disasters, terrorism and other events that pose a major public threat as well as handling different types of fires. Plus, in the early 1990s, fire departments started promoting fire safety in the schools, which has helped reduce injuries and deaths
According to Owens, he “felt it was time to step away” from some of his duties, especially after recently taking on more responsibility. Besides being chief of the Sebewaing Police Department, he also coordinates police coverage for the village of Unionville.
Owens is originally from the Vassar/Caro area. After leaving the U.S. Air Force, he attended Delta College and received his associate’s degree in law enforcement in 1976. In 1996, he received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Saginaw Valley State University. While in college, he interned with the Tuscola County Sheriff’s Department.
After graduating from Delta College, Owens took a position with the Unionville Police Department, where he worked for 24 years, moving from officer to chief. In the late 1980s, the position was trimmed to part time because of budget cuts, so he started working for other departments in Caseville, Cass City and Mayville.
In January 2000, he started working full time for the Sebewaing Police Department, and in 2007 he became chief. Owens also worked as an EMT for the ACW – Unionville Ambulance Service for around eight years.
After retiring from the fire department, his only duty now is running the Sebewaing Police Department and the Unionville Police Department.