Deputy to take over as EMA interim director

The Cape Girardeau County Commission turned to Emergency Management Agency director David Hitt's deputy to fill the post while they search for a permanent replacement.

The commission Thursday chose Charlie Griffith, deputy director since 2001, to take over when Hitt retires Monday.

Griffith said he has applied for the permanent job, but that little will change while the search for a permanent director is underway.

"I am just going to keep on doing what I am doing," he said.

The county has received 14 applications for the job opening, County Clerk Kara Clark said.

Hitt, 60, is retiring after 11 years on the job. The applicants will be screened by a five-member panel that will recommend three or four finalists to the commission, Clark said.

The screening committee members include Capt. Ruth Ann Dickerson, communications manager for the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department, county health director Charlotte Craig, and E911 Advisory Board member Willie Sandin, Perry County emergency director Jack Lakenan, and Chuck Keppler, director of human resources at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

The duties for the director include coordinating with regional and state public safety agencies in planning for and directing responses to natural and manmade disasters. Applicants are also required to coordinate the county's 911 system.

No timetable has been set for making the final selection.