Six officers were recently promoted to supervisory and administrative positions at the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Brad Hardel said his department employs 99 people.
Of those, 45 officers are in corrections while 35 are in patrol or detectives.
Communications has a staff of 12, and the records office has a staff of three.
A captain oversees a division, while a sergeant directly supervises a team of officers.
A corrections sergeant typically supervises up to 10 officers, while a patrol sergeant supervises six officers.
“It’s very important to have the right supervisors and the right administrators overseeing the divisions,” Hardel said.
Patrol Capt. Todd Rasmussen was recently promoted from sergeant.
Rasmussen is a 1988 graduate of Weyauwega-Fremont High School who earned an associate’s degree in police science from Fox Valley Technical College and a bachelor’s degree in police administration and management from Kaplan University.
Beginning in 1989, Rasmussen served three years as an MP in the U.S. Army, then served on the water patrol on the Chain O’ Lakes until 1995, when he became a deputy with the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office.
Rasmussen worked in the jail less than a year before transferring to the Patrol Division. He was promoted to patrol sergeant in March 2005.
Capt. Terry Wilz has been transferred from patrol to communications.
A 1984 graduate of Fox Valley Technical College with an associate’s degree in police science technology, Wilz has 28 years of experience in law enforcement, with 15 of those years in a supervisory capacity.
From 1983 to 1985, Wilz worked part time as an officer for the village of Fremont and the city of Manawa, as well as a water patrol officer for the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office.
In 1985, he began working full time as a jailer and dispatcher for the county, and then became a patrol officer in 1988.
In 1997, Wilz was promoted to patrol sergeant. He became a patrol captain in 2005.
In addition to his duties with the county, Wilz served in the Wisconsin National Guard from 1981 to 2003, retiring with the rank first sergeant. He is also a deputy with the U.S. Marshals Service.
Wilz has continued his education with advanced SWAT training and leadership training at Fort McCoy, Basic Leadership School at Fort Dix, firearms instruction, EMT training and technical crash investigation, among other classes.
He has also attended FVTC’s Criminal Justice Executive Development Institute.
Adam Wogsland has been promoted to corrections captain.
A 15-year veteran with the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office, Wogsland was promoted to corrections sergeant after three years with the department.
He is a 1995 graduate of Iola-Scandinavia High School, who has received his training through the department.
Kevin Studzinski is now a patrol sergeant, who has been in law enforcement since 1999 when he worked for the Department of Natural Resources as a park ranger.
In 2001, Studzinski started working for the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office as a corrections officer. He moved to the patrol division 3 1/2 years later.
A 1996 graduate of Lincoln High School in Wisconsin Rapids, Studzinski attended Mid-State Technical College where he earned associate’s degrees in corrections and police science.
Jesse Cuff was promoted to the rank of corrections sergeant. He has been working at the county jail since 2004.
A 2002 graduate of Waupaca High School, Cuff attended Fox Valley Technical College for training as a corrections officer.
He has also served 10 years in the U.S. Army Reserve in Wisconsin.
Chris Andraschko is now a corrections sergeant at the county jail.
Andrashko has 15 years of experience in law enforcement and six years working at the county jail.
A 1989 graduate of Waupaca High School, Andrashko has an associate’s degree from Fox Valley Technical College.