Fremont will talk to applicants for chief
By Jack Stephens
Published in News on March 1, 2006 1:50 PM
FREMONT -- The top applicants for the vacant Fremont police chief's job will be interviewed March 14.
Town Administrator Kerry McDuffie scheduled the date for the interviews with the approval of the Town Board of Aldermen.
When asked how many people had applied to succeed the retiring Ben Reid Jr. as chief, McDuffie replied, "We have a decent number. I'm comfortable with what we have." The town had advertised the vacancy for several weeks.
McDuffie said after Tuesday night's monthly town board meeting in Town Hall that he did not know when a chief would be chosen. He said the board might decide to name a chief after the first interviews, or it might wait until after second interviews.
The board's next monthly meeting is scheduled for March 21.
Sgt. Wayne Schwark has been serving as acting chief.
The 64-year-old Reid resigned Feb. 14 after about two and half years as chief. He had told the board during a special meeting Jan. 31 that he would resign Feb. 21, but he accelerated his plans. The board had hoped to hold a reception for him Feb. 21, but McDuffie said he was too ill to attend.
The board did pass a resolution of appreciation Tuesday night that would allow Reid to keep his service weapon and his badge.
Reid worked with the Police Department for 41 years. He worked part time for the first 30 years and then was hired full time after he retired from O'Berry Center in 1994. He was promoted from officer to sergeant and then to captain.
Reid succeeded Terry Grant, a former major with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, in August 2003.
"I really appreciate the chief for his job," Alderman Billy Harvey said earlier. "Very rarely has someone spent that many years in the line of duty, especially with the Police Department."