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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 2, 2004 Gold Hill’s new police chief starts By SANNE SPECHT Mail Tribune GOLD HILL — The city’s new police chief says his top priority is to involve local citizens in law enforcement. Dean Muchow, 52, was sworn into service Tuesday as the city’s fifth police chief in four years. The 20-year veteran officer hailing from Compton, Calif., has served in several small communities in Idaho and most recently in Union in northeastern Oregon. Muchow is replacing Rod Countryman, who resigned in April after serving two years. He is now overseeing the Jackson County Corrections Division. Muchow spent his first day on the job getting oriented and acquainted, he said. Advertisement "I want to meet the businesses and the business owners," he said. "And I need to learn the street names." Muchow said he is eager to begin a community policing program to help support his small staff, which includes one other full-time officer and three part-time reserves. "The first thing I want to get started is a citizen patrol here in town," said Muchow. "In a town like Gold Hill, the community has to work together. And the police department must work with the community at large." Muchow said the new patrols will consist of unarmed local citizens who know the town well and are "trained in keeping logs." The volunteers will provide extra eyes and ears for the police department, he said. "They will patrol in unmarked vehicles," Muchow said. "They will be an extra invaluable tool to watch and record what’s going on out there." Muchow told a story about a community patrol team elsewhere who saved an elderly woman injured from a fall in her home. "They knew her light shouldn’t have been on at that time of night," Muchow said. "They called for emergency help and probably saved her life." Officer Hank Hobart served as interim chief since Countryman’s departure. Muchow said Hobart has done a good job of keeping the department going with minimal staffing. Gold Hill has a history of conflicts between police chiefs and council members. But with new faces brought by a spring recall and November’s election, Muchow says he’s expecting to stay the course. "I’m enough of an easy-going person to get along with everyone," he said. "Gold Hill is growing. And I’d like to be a part of that process." Muchow’s wife and three daughters are still living in Union. They will move down at the end of the school year, he said. Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Student Loans Online Pharmacy tcg student loan consolidation Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Salvia Divinorum Online Casino Advertisement s