Sad news from the Statehouse. Capitol Police Chief Dave Janawicz died Sunday.

He was often the guy who greeted you when you walked into the Statehouse and set the tone for an attentive, useful, yet not overly harsh, security force in the building. It's a greeting I will miss.

He was also often the one who let many of us know the comings and goings in the Statehouse through e-mail contact list. When a legislator or former legislator died, Janawicz would put the word out about funeral services. Odd then, when the e-mail about Janawicz's passing came from the House Speaker's Office.

Sgt.-at-Arms Francis Brooks said the information network was all Janawicz's initiative.

“He absolutely, positively loved his job,” Brooks said. “He’d be in on Saturday and that’s when he’d do the calendar.”

Janawicz, 62, of East Montpelier, is survived by his wife, Linda, and four grown children.

Funeral services are expected to be held Friday at the First Baptist Church in Barre, Brooks said. Janawicz, a Navy veteran, will be buried in the veterans’ cemetery in Randolph.

- Terri Hallenbeck