CAPE GIRARDEAU NAMES POLICE, FIRE CHIEFS; NEW-HIRES FROM ARKANSAS, GEORGIA

After a four-month search for police and fire chiefs, Cape Girardeau city officials filled both positions Monday.

Daniel White, fire chief in Springdale, Ark., will take over the Cape Girardeau department on Jan. 2. Richard Hetzel, police chief in Norcross, Ga., starts his job in Cape Girardeau Jan. 13.

City Manager Michael Miller announced the hirings during a Monday afternoon press conference at City Hall. Both candidates had their final interviews Monday morning.

Hetzel, 44, joined the Norcross Police Department as chief in 1992. He was dedicated to improving the department's image.

"The department was involved in some lawsuits," he said. "Norcross is a very culturally diverse community, and it was experiencing a lot of growth. We weren't able to deal with it."

Hetzel said the city's elected officials joined with police officers and him to address the problems. They developed two youth-oriented programs: the Chief's Club and the Norcross Student Leadership program.

A native Missourian, Hetzel holds a master's degree in administration of criminal justice from Webster University in St. Louis. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va. He worked for 17 years with the Army Criminal Investigation Division.

Hetzel and his wife, Kathy, have a grown son and daughter. The family lives in the Atlanta area.

The new chief said Cape Girardeau residents' positive attitude toward the police department helped him decide to move here. His said his first steps will involve opening the lines of communication with his officers and see what they think about their department.

"I also want to work with the community," Hetzel said. "I like to get out and meet with organizations. One of the most important things is making the public understand what we are about."

Later, he plans to set priorities in the department's resources, equipment and programs.

White, 44, started with the Springdale Fire Department in 1974, and worked his way up through the ranks. He was appointed chief in 1986. While chief, White established a hazardous materials handling team, updated firefighting equipment and computerized operations and administration.

The Springdale department grew quickly under White's leadership. He said there were 46 employees when he became chief, and there now are 75. The city plans to hire 15 more firefighters and add a sixth fire station.

Springdale is near Fayetteville, Ark., and has a population of 38,000.

White holds a bachelor's degree in public administration from the University of Arkansas and is working on his master's degree.

"The first thing I want to do in Cape Girardeau is meet with the firemen and see the direction they think the department needs to go," he said. "I need to tap into the local knowledge. From what I've seen, I'm not starting at ground zero by any means."

White and his wife, Carola, have two children at home: Tiffany, 15, and Dustin, 11. Another son, Jacob, attends the University of Arkansas.

Interim police chief Steve Strong and interim fire chief Max Jauch both made the short lists of potential candidates. Miller said a panel of city staff chosen to hire new chiefs felt that Hetzel and White were more qualified.

"With any position, I like to get the largest possible number of applicants for comparison, and this was no exception," he said. "In this case, we felt the most qualified candidates were these two gentlemen here."

Six police chief finalists and seven fire chief finalists went through separate assessment centers set up in Cape Girardeau by consultant Carl Ramey. The centers put candidates through a variety of situations, then allowed them to be judged by the hiring panel.

Police and fire employees also were allowed to express their opinions on the finalists. Receptions were conducted for both departments, where employees were encouraged to meet the finalists and submit their opinions of each.

Both chiefs will be paid $51,500 a year. Miller said the salary is lower than the average in Missouri but more than some former chiefs have earned.