LIMESTONE – Aroostook County and especially Limestone are losing an experienced law enforcement officer to private enterprise.

Sgt. Stephen Belanger, a 10-year veteran of the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department and supervisor of the county force that polices Limestone, tendered his resignation to the Aroostook County commissioners Wednesday.

Belanger is starting his own business rebuilding magnetos, formerly a hobby of his. It is a craft he learned from his father, Gerald Belanger, who owned Belanger’s Auto Electric in Caribou.

“We are very sad that he is leaving,” Aroostook County Administrator Douglas Beaulieu said Friday morning. “He has worked for us about 10 years and he’s done a great job.

“His last stint was overseeing the Limestone department and he did that well there where he had good rapport,” Beaulieu said. “He was at a crossroads in his life and we accepted his resignation with regret.

“I am particularly sad to see him go,” he said. “His kind of talent is gone.”

Belanger said working full time in law enforcement and on his hobby-turned-business had started to “get a little bit overwhelming.”

“I’ve had this in the back of my mind for some time,” he said. “Changes were being made, like asking me to work night shifts, and that helped me make my decision.

“Working with magnetos is something I enjoy very much,” he said Friday. “It’s not something everyone can do.”

Belanger will remain a part-time deputy sheriff doing civil process and transport work.

“He can stay on [as a deputy sheriff] as long as he keeps up his training,” Aroostook County Sheriff James Madore said of Belanger. “He’s leaving for the private sector as of Dec. 16.

“We will need to replace him at Limestone,” he said. “This all happened pretty fast.”