HIRING PROCESS BEGINS FOR POLICE, FIRE BOSSES

The recent resignations of Cape Girardeau's fire and police chiefs will leave a sizable hole in city leadership.

For City Manager Michael Miller, the timing is a blessing, not a curse. The two jobs are somewhat related, he said, and similar advertising and interviewing processes will make it easier to find replacements.

Fire Chief Robert Ridgeway left the city last week to become fire chief in Gastonia, N.C. Assistant Chief Max Jauch is filling the gap and may be in the running for a permanent position.

Capt. Stephen C. Strong will take over as interim police chief when Boyd leaves at the end of August.

Miller called the two men's departures purely coincidental, and Boyd agreed. Boyd said he enjoyed working under Miller's administration and had been thinking about retiring from the city for several months.

Job advertisements will come out in police and fire trade journals at the beginning of September. Even though the city is advertising nationally, Miller said, the new chiefs may come from inside the respective departments.

"I like to look for the best person for the job," Miller said. "We will measure the inside and outside candidates with our needs in our fire and police departments."

He expects to hire both chiefs by the first of the year and said the main delays were various magazines' time schedules.

Strong, 48, said he is looking forward to serving as acting police chief.

Strong has been on the police force for 20 years and has been second in command of the department behind the police chief since May 1989.

He hasn't decided if he will apply for the job of police chief. Residency could be a problem.

Strong doesn't live in the Cape Girardeau city limits. He lives on the family farm in Cape Girardeau County.

Department heads are required to live in the city limits unless the city manager waives that requirement.

"Generally, I feel that a department head should live within the city limits," Miller said.