Griffith named interim emergency management director

The Cape Girardeau County Commission named Charlie Griffith as interim director of the county's Emergency Management Agency to replace David Hitt, who is retiring.

Griffith, 42, has been deputy director since 2001. Griffith said this morning that he has applied for the permanent job. Little will change while the search for a permanent director is underway, Griffith said.

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

Griffith will serve until the commission hires a permanent replacement for Hitt. 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.

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

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

No timetable has been set for making the final selection.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611 extension 126