John S. Moody (Adirondack Daily Enterprise, September 29, 1954)
Born: March 23, 1893
Died: August 12, 1973
Married: Ida Preston Moody
Children: Ronald S. Moody, Timothy P. Moody
John S. Moody was a World War II veteran. He was a son of John C. and Lucy Stevens Moody. He served on the Saranac Lake Police Force for 29 years.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, August 13, 1973
John S. Moody
SARANAC LAKE – The funeral service for John S. Moody, 56, of Moir Road, who died early Sunday Morning, will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Methodist Church. The pastor, the Rev. Eric King, will condict the service. Interment will be in Pine Ridge Cemetery. Friends attending the funeral are asked to meet at the church.
Mr. Moody had been on the Saranac Lake Police Force for 29 years and retired in 1957. Since then he had been a self employed carpenter.
He was born in Saranac Lake, a son of John C. and Lucy Stevens Moody and had lived here all his life. He served in the Seabees in World War II.
Survivors are his wife, Ida Preston Moody, two sons, Ronald S. of Rochester and Timothy P. of Saranac Lake; a grandson, Eric Lee Moody of Rocherster, and several nieces and nephews.
His family request that friends wishing to remember him make donations to the Saranac Lake Policeman's Protective association or to the Heart Fund.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, September 29, 1954
MOODY NAMED DEPUTY CHIEF OF S.L. POLICE
Saranac Lake is to have a Deputy Chief of Police in the person of Sgt. John S. Moody—10-year service man in the department.
Acting Sergeant Edward J. Bettes is to receive a permanent appointment to that post and Patrolman Oliver Queior. Jr. will be made acting sergeant.
The appointments become effective next Monday, Oct. 4.
The promotions were made at the suggestion of Police Chief William Wallace and announced by Village Manager Frank Buck following a meeting of the Board of Trustees last night.
Chief Wallace made his recommendations so that the police department "will have a proper chain of command at all times."
The new Deputy Chief, who joined the department in 1944, will receive a $5 salary increase, from $67 to $72 a week. Sgt. Betters, with 7 years service, remains at the same salary — $67. Patrolman Queior, as acting sergeant, will receive $67, a $7 increase. Both Betters and Queior have passed the promotional examination for the position of sergeant. Only eight-tenths of a point separated the two men in their examination marks, Betters getting 84.4 and Queior 83.6.
In a letter to Village Manager Buck recommending the promotions, Chief Wallace wrote:
"It has long been my contention that a department of 10 men should have a chief, a deputy chief and two sergeants so that there will be at least one man in charge 24 hours a day. The way it is now, with vacations, sick leave and overtime, I find my department not properly supervised at times, with the result that efficiency is impaired.
"One of the best arguments in favor of successful investigation into larcenies and other crime is "continuity" of the probe. By that I mean investigation of a complaint through its entirety by a qualified man or men until the probe is successful or where a point is reached where further investigation be stayed until other leads and clues are presented.
"Of course, all large departments have a detective bureau or, as the State Police, a Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and these departments have no other duties but to work on a case assigned to them. But in a department such as ours there is so much routine work to be done that at times investigations are pretty much of a piece-meal operation and this is of necessity. Here, as in other departments of this size investigations are started by one man and turned over to another as, with the manpower available, there are only enough men to man shifts, leaving no reserve man. Often during an investigation a change of shift occurs and a man new to the case must take over so that the probe may continue.
"It is my feeling that having another officer in command— such as a deputy chief who would be assigned to a day shift so that he could be continually in touch with all investigations — we would have a better chance to successfully complete them. This would also give us the proper number of officers in charge of the night men at such times as the chief or a sergeant is not available for such supervision.
"The deputy chief, being a day man, would be able to work the shifts of any of the sergeants or of the chief without any undo change in schedule and if an investigation required the continued effort of one man, personally it could be done by him without interfering with the regular shifts.
"May I also point out that with the Seaway scheduled for "all out effort" in the Spring, we may expect an increase in crimes of larceny and violence, this being mirrored in reports of the Massena area. And the constant influx of laborers and hanger-on into Pittsburgh because of the new airport is bound to make police work more complex and will certainly increase the amount of work for all neighboring police departments.
"I feel if we prepare ourselves now for this contingency we will not leave ourselves open to criticism in the near future.
"I have conferred with Neilson Brush, of the Franklin County Civil Service, on this subject of another police officer in command and he feels it would be a good thing for this department. He points out that the Village Board could make a temporary appointment and then asked that this be made a permanent position in our department."
