“Having spent the first part of 2001 short staffed, the Langley Police Department got some needed help this month when it hired Laura Price as its newest officer.Price, a former reserve deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office, replaces longtime Langley Officer Chris White, who resigned from her position last December.Chief Bob Herzberg swore Price in as an officer during last Wednesday’s Langley City Council meeting. He said he was pleased to be able to hire her after she tested as one of three finalists in the police department’s statewide hiring search. The department sent hiring notices to 80 law enforcement agencies across the state in its search for a new officer.A Coupeville resident, Price spent time working with the South Patrol division of the Sheriff’s Office. Herzberg said that is a benefit to his department.We were real fortunate to get someone familiar with South Whidbey, he told the city council.Price, who will enroll in the Washington Police Academy this week, said she looks forward to a long career with the Langley department.This is a place I could probably spend the rest of my life, she said.Price will train at the academy through Sept. 27. She will begin work as a full-time Langley officer starting Oct. 1.With the addition of Price, the Langley Police Department is fully staffed with three full-time patrol officers and a full-time chief. “