Derry Township woman, former police officer, running for district judge

Jeff Himler, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
·2 min read

Feb. 26—A Derry Township woman who served as a police officer and deputy coroner in neighboring Indiana County hopes to succeed retiring District Judge Mark Bilik for the Derry area.

Republican Janelle L. Hood, 51, is seeking both party nominations in her bid for the District Court 10-3-08 seat.

"I would like to keep the position of magistrate moving forward as it has for years," she said in a press release.

A graduate of Derry Area High School and the police academy at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Hood served with the Blairsville Police Department, advancing to corporal and officer in charge while "investigating everything from burglary to homicide," she said.

She received a commendation as a member of the Attorney General's Municipal Drug Task Force.

Certified as an emergency medical technician, she responded to the Flight 93 crash site in Shanksville on 9/11 while serving four years as an Indiana County deputy coroner.

She is an instructor for an American Heart Association CPR/AED program and teaches at the Community College of Allegheny County, where she completed training as a paramedic and emergency medical instructor and earned the Veteran Friendly Faculty Award in 2014.

She graduated magna cum laude from Colorado Technical University in 2017 with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a concentration in homeland security and emergency management.

She has continued her education in emergency management at Georgetown University.

She completed a NASA Federal Arrest Authority Academy in March 2020 and became an emergency management specialist for two NASA facilities in Ohio.

She helped found the former Diamond Days community festival in Blairsville and is a church and Boy Scouts volunteer, teaching first aid and CPR.

Twice widowed, she is the mother of four children.

"I am dedicated to my family and what I do," she said.

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .