CWSPD has new chief, council calls for Citizen of the Year nominations
Contributed
City Administrator Sheila Moore, left, administers the oath of office to new Cotttowood Shores Police Chief Johnny Liendo. The 40-year veteran law officer comes to the Highland Lakes from Georgetown.
Glynis Crawford Smith
The Highlander
Cottonwood Shores has a new police chief. Johnny Liendo of Georgetown was sworn in at city hall Monday.
Gregory Palmer, who joined the city as chief in mid-April, is staying on as police lieutenant, but resigned as chief before the July 6 council meeting. With Liendo's addition, the city is back up to a force of four full-time officers.
Little was said at the meeting, but after an executive session in which Palmer's resignation as chief was discussed, the council voted to renew their search for a top cop.
Former chief Chris Bieze and Lt. John-Michael Talamantez left the city for the Burnet County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) and Ofcr. Sarah Peterson departed as well, leaving Palmer to rely on reserve officers such as Liendo as he rebuilt the force.
Officers Jason Bartholomew and Christen Moller now serve with reserve officer Javier Castro.
Liendo, a 40-year veteran in law enforcement, already was serving as a reserve officer in Cottonwood Shores before he was asked to become chief. In addition to serving six years as a senior special agent for investigation in the office of the Texas Attorney General, he was a McLennan County Sheriff's Office deputy for 14 years.
In Granger, Liendo was chief of police for the school district for five years and became a truancy specialist. He is a certified narcotics dog handler.
Citizen of the Year
Also at the July 6 council meeting, Mayor Donald Orr put out the call for nominations for Outstanding Citizen of the Year.
“We will vote at our next meeting July 20, so nominations need to arrive in time for us to consider them,” said Orr. “This will be the third plaque presented for Citizen of the Year.”
Jim Bristow was the first in 2015 and last year's honoree was Carlos Naumann.
Nominations for 2017, with an explanation of why the citizen is being nominated are to be submitted to City Administrator Sheila Moore at city hall, 3808 Cottonwood Drive, or by email, city.admin@cottonwoodshores.org. For more information, call Moore at 830-693-3830.
