ifredregill@altoonamirror.com
After 44 years in law enforcement, Altoona’s first female police chief, Janice Freehling, is retiring Monday, leaving a legacy of cultivating leaders and building community relationships.
“I plan to relax and enjoy it,” Freehling said. “I have my kitchen to remodel, and I want to travel to Colorado, Arizona and Texas but my first stop will be the beach.”
While her father, Calvin Johnston, wanted her to pursue a career in teaching like her sisters, Freehling said her mother, Margery, proudly stood behind her daughter’s decision to enter law enforcement in 1977.
“I get all my determination from my mother,” Freehling said, explaining she admired her mother’s late-in-life decision to transition from homemaker to health care professional.