CHAFFEE FIRE DEPARTMENT MAY DIRECT PREPAREDNESS

CHAFFEE - The Chaffee Fire Department may soon have to take care of the city's emergency preparedness too.

Committee Director Steve Graham asked the Chaffee City Council Monday to consider letting the department take on the city's emergency preparedness duties. Following Graham's request, Moyers sent the matter to the city's Fire Committee.

Appearing before the council in its regular meeting, Graham said he has worked with the city's Emergency Preparedness Committee since October and has put a lot of time toward it. But he said he doesn't have the opportunity to spend the time he needs to with the committee.

"We wouldn't be the first one to do it," Graham said. "As far as I know the majority of the cities in our area, their fire department is running their emergency preparedness. They're doing their weather spotting and a lot of other aspects of that."

Graham said he believed the city would come out ahead under such an arrangement.

"At this point in time it's the best thing I can see (based) on the fact that you have 15 pretty reliable guys down there (at the fire department), and they're all on pager systems and they show up when they're needed," he said.

The arrangement, he said, would allow the city to get more use of its emergency preparedness truck, which could be used by the department on fire runs. The department has purchased equipment and has no place to put it, said Graham.

Both Graham and Ward 1 Councilman Jerry Wolsey said the city's fire chief, Bill Hagan, has seemed to be in support of such a move.

Moyers also expressed support for the move. "It's a good idea. I have no problem with it," the mayor said.

Sending the matter to the Fire Committee, he said, would permit any problems with a possible change to be worked out. If the problems can't be worked out, he said, the committee can remain as is.

Moyers Monday sent to the city's Police Commission a request that the city should go back to a regular dog catcher, rather than having city police deal with animal control. Wolsey made the request.

After Monday's meeting, Moyers said that city ordinance puts the city's sixth officer in charge of animal control. Under the request, he said, that officer would instead deal with city animal control.

The city now has five police officers with the resignation last month of former officer Jack Hargraves, said Moyers.

Also Monday:

City Police Chief Ivan McLain said he had learned the city of Delta has worked out an arrangement with the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department that will allow it to keep Delta municipal violators at the county jail. At the last Chaffee City Council meeting, it was announced that the city of Delta had asked that it be able to keep its lawbreakers at the Chaffee City Jail.

Though some city officials voiced displeasure with the request, Moyers asked the city's Police Commission to consider the matter.

As for the new development, McLain added: "The police commissioners were not in favor of having them (the Delta lawbreakers) anyway."