A rewarding career
Monday, December 11, 2006 10:43 AM PST
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| Larry Meyer | Argus Observer
Nyssa Police Chief Dennis Francis (right) chats with Officer Bob Trotter at the Nyssa Police station at Nyssa City Hall. Francis is retiring from the department Dec. 31 after more than 20 years. |
Larry Meyer | Argus Observer
NYSSA
When Nyssa Police Chief Dennis Francis moved to Nyssa in 1975 it was to manage The Merc Department Store, but circumstances within the company changed his direction and he has now been with Nyssa Police Department for more than 20 years.
Francis, 62, will retire from the department Dec. 31, and city officials are in the process of selecting his successor.
“This is a young man's business,” he said.
However, retirement is not in his vocabulary and after doing some work around the house he said he plans to go out and find another job.
“I'm not going to sit around the house,” he said.
He said he went to work for The Merc store chain in 1970, starting in the warehouse, and worked his way up to assistant manager of the Boise store before coming to Nyssa in 1975.
“I managed (the Nyssa) Merc Department Store from 1975 to 1981,” he said. Francis said he would still be with the company if the owners had not it shut down.
“I was only supposed to be here for two years,” he said. Francis said he enjoyed the retail business.
After the owners shut it down, Francis was suddenly unemployed. So he said he decided to give law enforcement a try.
“I needed a job,” Francis said. He joined the police reserve in 1979 and was hired as full-time officer in 1981 and found his next career and never looked back.
“You get to do different things, you get to meet different people, and hopefully make a difference in some people's lives,” he said about his job as chief.
In 1984 Francis was promoted to corporal, became sergeant in 1996 and has served as chief since 1998.
One of the highlights of his career at Nyssa, he said, is the upgrade of the police department's radio system, which is used by other agencies when officers are in the Nyssa area, particularly in the Owyhee River Canyon. Besides having more wattage to provide more power, Francis arranged to have a repeater put up on Syme Hill, on the Idaho side.
“We have more than adequate radio service,” he said. “It's not a big deal for me to let other people use our frequency. That is what we are all about, particularly for officer safety.
“Working with the officers and working with people in the town and outside,” Francis said are things he has enjoyed about the job. The force has seven members.
“We used to have just six,” Francis said.
Francis said one of his predecessors - Terry Thompson, now Malheur County Justice of the Peace - used grant money to begin funding a school resource officer. That position is now funded by the school district.
“I hope to see that continue,” he said. Among other things, having an SRO has reduced the amount of time Francis or other officers spend at schools on criminal issues, he said.
“The biggest problem is the budget constraints we're working under,” he said. “We take the budget we get and we make do.”
Francis said he never had any desire to join another police department, and leaving Nyssa would have meant he was leaving police work.
“This size of department is just about right for me. It was a pretty good fit,” he said.
Francis has been involved in the city ever since he arrived in 1975. He was a member of the chamber of commerce, serving as president and chaired the merchants committee.
No Dhimmi wrote on Aug 14, 2009 9:38 PM:
And this isn't "racist," because Islam is not a race, anymore than Communism or Nazism are races, both of which killed far fewer people than Islam.
Disgusting. "