Emergency director retiring

David Hitt, director of emergency operations for Cape Girardeau County, announced his retirement Monday after 11 years on the job.

Hitt, 60, told county commissioners in a letter that his departure is not the result of "any issues with any of you or anything related to Cape Girardeau County government. There are things I want to do while I am young enough and healthy enough to do and enjoy."

Hitt set his retirement date at April 30.

Hitt was a career military man, retiring from the U.S. Army as a master sergeant in 1994 after 28 years in uniform. Hitt said he plans to promote issues important to veterans during his retirement.

He will also take a seat on the Jackson Board of Aldermen following the April 3 election. Hitt is a former alderman and is unopposed for the Ward 2 seat being vacated by Kerry Hoffman.

"I've been thinking about it for about a year," Hitt said after meeting with commissioners. "There is a time when you have to do something for yourself, and you better make good with what you have while you have it."

Hitt's departure comes as the county works through a series of drills to determine its readiness in the event of a major earthquake on the New Madrid Fault. Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said he's convinced Hitt is leaving the county well prepared.

Cape Girardeau County's emergency preparedness is "a poster child, a model for the state of Missouri," Jones said. "We have not needed to use it many times, but when it was needed, it was there."

Running the emergency operations center was similar to his duties in the operations section of an Army battalion, Hitt said.

Veterans from World War II and the Korean War need an advocate, Hitt said, and he hopes to work in that area. He said he's determined that those veterans, who are dying at a rate of about 1,500 a year nationally, are properly honored.

"I want to learn to play the bugle and play taps at military funerals," he said.

Hitt also plans to advocate for veterans issues and visit veterans homes, among other things.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611 extension 126