Letter to the Editor,

Over the past month the city council has had to make tough decisions as far as budget and personnel cuts within the city.

I have been making arrangements to have an officer complete the school resource officer training in St. Louis over the next several months to assume these new duties, which I feel are a needed asset to the kids and schools in this community. Even though the police department has been reduced in manpower, I want the community to be assured that I will do everything I can to ensure the safety of this town and make sure the streets are covered and calls are handled in a timely manner.

However, the reduction in personnel will put a slight strain on the police department but we can overcome this. I am asking the community to continue their ongoing support of the police department by working together and taking pro-active measures to keep our community safe, such as calling in suspicious activity, day or night, keeping your vehicles locked, and valuable items locked up and out of sight.

Any citizens that may have suggestions for the police department are encouraged to speak with me at the Owensville Police Department as I always have an open door policy. I want to thank the mayor, Board of Aldermen, and city administrator for working with me during this difficult time with the upcoming budget because there were hard decisions to make, but by working together like we did, we were able to pull through this.

Robert Rickerd

Chief of Police