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The Kitty Hawk Police Department welcomed five new hires to the force just before Christmas: Ryan Lowry, Matthew Newton, Charles Bailey, Jack Frisoli and Jesus Reyes. Four of the five men were present for the town’s council meeting on January 6, where Police Chief Michael Palkovics opened the evening’s meeting by introducing the new recruits.

Lowry, 28, is from Virginia (Va.) and was part of the Charlottesville Police Department prior to transferring to Kitty Hawk. He was stationed most recently at the Charlottesville airport. Lowry was part of a viral video from August of 2023, where himself and two other Charlottesville police officers were shown playing street basketball with kids in the community. He shared with the town council members that he enjoys hunting, fishing and farming, and that it was an honor be a part of the town’s police department.

Newton, 34, comes to Kitty Hawk with almost 15 years of experience. Serving Prince William County in Va. for almost 10 years, then Hanover County, Va. for four years, Newton was recommended by a former member of Kitty Hawk’s police team, Sergeant Travis Hardman. The two served in Prince William County together for a few years. Newton shared that he, his wife and their three children were excited to pursue a better life in Kitty Hawk and moved into their new home on Christmas Day. Palkovics was happy to report that the new officer comes with detective experience and was looking forward to exploring that within the team.

Recruits Frisoli, 23, and Reyes, 36, were present for the meeting and are both new to law enforcement. They have joined Bailey in basic training and expressed their gratitude to the town and the police force for the opportunity and warm welcomes.

Palkovics shared that officer Ben Elko had also been sworn in earlier that day. “I can’t tell you how excited we are to have them join our team. This brings us up to full complement, once we get them all trained.” He added, “We are really looking forward to them being a part of our team, organization and hitting the road and serving the public.”

During public comment, Ralph Buxton presented the town with a picture taken by Wilbur and Orville Wright of the Kitty Hawk Life-Saving Station and the U.S. Weather Bureau station. He had the photo cropped and zoomed to focus on the two buildings, as well as digitally enhanced and colorized to better depict the scene.

This year marks the 150^th anniversary of the US Army Signal Corps at the life-saving station, who was involved in the development of the Wright Flyer and communicating with the Wright brothers prior to their arrival to the island. “We present this to the town in appreciation for your support and also to encourage you to continue to celebrate the fantastic culture and history that you have,” Buxton shared.

The last order of business on the night’s agenda was to appoint two board of adjustment members and two alternates. Councilman David Hines nominated Kip Tabb and Bill Yetzer as full-time members, to which the council was fully in favor of and a motion to that effect was passed. Alternate member nominees were Fran Dunn (nominated by councilwoman Charlotte Walker), Justin Langley (nominated by Hines) and Mark Perry (nominated by councilman Dylan Tillett). The board seconded motions to nominate Langley and Perry, and a motion passed to appoint those two individuals as alternate members to the board of adjustments.

The next Kitty Hawk Town Council meeting will be held on Monday, February 3 at 6 p.m. at Town Hall.

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