The Cape Girardeau County Commission on Monday named former Jackson police Lt. Richard "Dick" Knaup as the county's new emergency management director.

Knaup, who currently works for USIS, a private investigative company, replaces David Hitt, who retired in April after 11 years in the job. Knaup will be paid $34,694 annually, Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said.

Knaup was chosen from among 15 applicants. County commissioners, joined by County Clerk Kara Clark and Ruth Ann Dickerson of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department, interviewed four finalists before choosing Knaup.

The choice was a difficult one, Jones said, with four "very qualified" candidates.

"Any one of them could have done an excellent job," Jones said. "That wasn't the problem. The problem was selecting the best one."

Knaup was not present when commissioners made the announcement.

Knaup was a Jackson police officer from 1978 to 1995. From 1995 to 2002, he was employed by AKAL Security Inc. and assigned to the U.S. Courthouse in Cape Girardeau as a court security officer. He has worked for USIS since August 2002.

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