News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The Sisters police department has stabilized after more than three months of staff shakeups and a legal fight with the city.
The city is expected to name Lieutenant Rich Shawver chief of police after the August 14 city council meeting. Shawver has been acting chief since ex-police chief David Haynes was fired May 15.
Shawver's force now includes officers Allan Borland, Wayne Morgan and Todd Williver, and Pat Davis as dispatcher. Williver replaced Don Pray who left the department to take a position as a Deschutes County deputy on August 11.
Shawver and the other officers hope that the current force is permanent.
"I feel really good now," Shawver said. "The officers are doing quality work and we're doing the city's business. I'm really proud of the way they're performing."
City officials have consistently affirmed the quality of the department's police work, though the administration's relationship with the department has been strained by police unionization and a lawsuit over payment for compensatory time and salary "step" increases.
The city has settled the lawsuit with the officers, paying over $30,000 including damages and attorney's fees.
The city must decide who will be second in command under Shawver and what rank that officer will hold. The decision could have an impact on collective bargaining; a sergeant could belong to the Sisters Police Association, a lieutenant could not.
A July 31 memo signed by Borland, Morgan, Pray and Davis urged the city to "promote from within the department if, and when, there is a need." The memo argued that "it would not make sense to have a chief of police, a lieutenant and two patrol officers."
Shawver doesn't think the issue is too important.
"The second-in-command issue, right now for me, is not really an issue at all," Shawver said. "I think we have bigger problems than a second in command."
But Shawver is adamant that any promotions should come from the ranks.
"When we get around to that, I think we've got qualified candidates right here," he said.
Mayor Steve Wilson is willing to go along with that view.
"Due to budget constraints, I would rather promote from within rather than go out and hire another person," Wilson said.
The future of the department remains unclear, though, as the city studies the possibility of merging police services with Deschutes County. According to Wilson, discussions of that possibility are to get underway soon.
But even if a merger is made, the current Sisters officers are likely to remain on patrol, though in a different uniform. Shawver said his position is that the county should take on the officers"as they see us."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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