TOURS OF DUTY: THE SEARCH IS ON FOR TWO NEW CHIEFS IN CAPE GIRARDEAU

Cape Girardeau shouldn't have a problem conducting simultaneous searches for a new police chief and fire chief since the city has been down the path before, city leaders say.

Both positions were vacant at the same time in late 1996 and are open again. Fire chief Dan White and police chief Rick Hetzel arrived in Cape Girardeau within a month of each other and also announced their resignations within a month of one another.

White left his post Friday for a job in Bentonville, Ark. Hetzel will leave by June to take a public relations post with St. Francis Medical Center.

"It's not a crushing blow and not unusual for department heads in that position to move up," said city manager Michael Miller, adding that sometimes that means moving out.

Based on city and newspaper records, the average stay for a police chief is between four to six years. Fire chiefs' tenure averages about five years, although one chief, Carl Lewis, stayed 34 years.

While the turnover is more noticeable when both posts are open, there doesn't appear to be an underlying problem. More likely is a change in attitude about careers, Miller said.

In the past there was more of a tendency to stay in a career for a lifetime and to make advances in that field, remaining so dedicated to one career that any other wasn't even a consideration. Today, people may decide to switch careers as well as advance, he said.

"We're in a new century, and there aren't lifetime careers," he said.

Sheldon Lineback, executive director of the Missouri Police Chiefs Association, said that many chiefs who prove to be good administrators and are active in their communities become marketable in the private sector.

"It makes them attractive with the private sector, who goes out to find them," Lineback said.

He couldn't cite an average tenure for police chiefs in Missouri, saying that it often depends on the pay and how the position is structured.

It's a high-stress and high-profile job, and there are all sorts of factors that go into that, Lineback said. "Sometimes you're everything from the police to a politician."

But politics ostensibly doesn't play into the hiring practice in Cape Girardeau. The city council does not participate in the hiring process. The city manager hires department heads, but the council and other city staff are encouraged to meet the finalists for open positions.

City charter prohibits the council from making the hiring decision, but Miller listens to the council's comments, said Mayor Al Spradling III.

Employee participation

Surveys within the fire and police departments are being drafted and will be conducted soon to determine what qualities city employees would like to see in a new leader. Then a team of city staff members will form to review those surveys and begin looking through applications.

Both positions are being advertised in the local newspaper and in trade newsletters and publications. The city would prefer to conduct a regional search rather than a national one, Miller said.

Miller already has conducted searches for other department heads like Tarryl Booker in the inspections division; Bruce Loy, airport manager; and Terri Clark-Bauer, director of the convention and visitors bureau; and the last search for a police and fire chief. He admits there will be more emphasis on the search at different times in the coming weeks, but he's constantly juggling projects as city manager.

He expects that the posts could be filled by June or July.

The biggest time lag is spent on waiting for advertisements to appear and then responses and resumes to start trickling in. Even if an internal candidate is interested, it's important to have other resumes to compare, he said.

The mayor said residents shouldn't be worried because both posts are open. He would be more alarmed if there weren't capable people already within the departments who can act as chief during the interim period. "Most departments can run without chiefs for a short time," Spradling said.

Past police chiefs have only stayed four or five years in that role but have been longtime employees and moved up the ranks in the department, which is probably the difference people see, he said.

It's like school superintendents and ministers who leave their posts to move to larger districts or bigger churches after a period of years, said Spradling. "You won't find anything unusual or anything adverse about what's happened," he said.

A history of city police and fire chiefs

Marshals and police chiefs

1904-05, John Grieb (city marshal)

1905-11, Willis Martin (city marshal)

1911-13, W.A. Summers (city marshal)

1913-14, D.A. Nichols (city marshal)

1914-16, Jeff Hutson (city marshal)

1916-18, Arthur S. Whitener (city marshal)

1918-22, W.S. Seagraves

1922, Jeff Hutson, slain. (In office March 1, 1922 to Oct. 7, 1922)

1922-24, W.F. Wickham

1924-25, Arthur S. Whitener

1925, W.C. Kelpe (acting chief)

1925-26, W.W. Billings

1926-30, W.F. Wickham

1930-34, J.E. Crafton

1934-36, Edgar W. Hirsch

1936-37, Herb Wickham Jr. (July 1937 entered Highway Patrol)

1937, Paul McNeely (died of heart attack after 13 days as chief)

1937-38, Charles Schweer (acting chief)

1938-40, Edgar W. Hirsch

1940-41, Ed Barenkamp (joined Seabees)

1941-46, Marshall F. Morton

1946-47, Fred Schneider (acting chief)

1947-48, John Penn

1948-52, William A. Mills

1952, Fred Schneider (acting chief)

1952-53, Irvin Richmond

1953-54, Fred Schneider and Capt. Marshal F. Morton (acting chiefs)

1954-55, Kenneth Cruse

1955-56, Fred Schneider (acting chief)

1956-64, Percy R. Little

1964-74, Irvin E. Beard

1974, Donald R. Roberts and W.W. Stover (acting chiefs)

1974-81, Henry H. Gerecke

1981-82, Donald R. Roberts (acting chief)

1982-88, Ray Johnson

1988-96, Howard Boyd Jr.

1996, Stephen C. Strong (acting chief)

1997-2001, Rick Hetzel

Fire chiefs (Dates of service unavailable)

Henry A. Astholz

Arthur Leher

Rudolph Stehr

Barney Kraft

Al Dittlinger

John Sullenger

Fred Meyer

George D. French

Harry Rabe

Robert Kammer

Dewey Hinton

Carl Lewis

Charles Mills

Gene Hindman

Max Jauch (acting chief)

Robert L. Ridgeway

Max Jauch (acting chief)

Daniel White

Source: Compiled by Sharon Sanders from city records and Southeast Missourian files.