Firefighter, police officer honored by Roselle Lions

Two of Roselle's finest police and firefighters were honored Monday by village officials and the local Lions Club.

Kevin Nelson, a Roselle firefighter who died last year of a heart attack, was given the 2007 Firefighter of the Year award by the local Lions Club. And Roselle police Sgt. Wilbur Seelye was given the group's annual Police Officer of the Year award.

Nelson was a 16-year veteran who took over as the fire department's training officer when a colleague was activated for military duty overseas. During the last year, Nelson worked to remodel the department's classroom and helped contribute to the department's prefire incident planning program.

"Kevin did a lot for our department and the village during his tenure," Fire Chief Robert Gallas said. "He rallied the troops."

Seelye has been with the police department since 1989 and serves as the department's investigations section commander. In the last year, Seelye has led the investigations to a host of crimes, including an armed bank robbery, an armed robbery of a convenience store and a host of residential burglaries.

"Sgt. Seelye is the heart and soul of the investigative division," Roselle Police Chief James Kruger said. "He has a strong sense of community and puts the organization and the village first in everything he does."

Seelye has also given numerous presentations to community groups and citizen police academy classes on identity theft, how to be a good witness and gang recognition.

"Every officer in this department deserves this award," Seelye said. "These accolades aren't possible without the caliber of the officers we have."