Tuesday night’s meeting of Tamaqua Borough Council started and ended with police business.

Retiring Tamaqua Police Chief Rick Weaver had a bit of unfinished business he wanted to complete before his last day in the department next week. He used Tuesday’s meeting to accomplish his goals, presenting awards to six members of his department, recognizing their service, skills and community service.

Cpl. Dwayne Hacker was awarded the Honorable Service and Community Service medals, commended specifically commended for his work with the youth of the community.

Cpl. Henry Woods received a police commendation medal for his work as a criminal investigator, solving separate attempted murder and homicide cases in a relatively short period of time. The timing on the cases actually overlapped, a first for the department. He also received the distinguished service medal for his investigative skills.

Patrolman Michael Hobbs was presented honorable service and community service medals, commended for his work with the youth of the community.

Patrolmen Anthony Stanell and Thomas Rodgers both received police commendation and good conduct medals. The men were praised for their work related to narcotics investigations. It was due to their knowledge and efforts that a suspect in an attempted homicide case, considered to be armed and dangerous, was taken into custody without incident.

Patrolman Rick Bekesy received police commendation and good conduct medals. The commendation was for his quick action in administering CPR to an unresponsive person, which was instrumental in saving that person’s life.

Council ended the meeting after a 30-minute executive session for real estate and personnel matters by appointing Hacker to the position of officer in charge, effective March 1, as they begin the process of looking for a replacement for Weaver.