The Leflore County Board of Supervisors could select a new director next week to head up its emergency management efforts.
The position has been vacant since the retirement of T.W. Cooper in June.
The job of leading the Greenwood-Leflore Emergency Management Agency currently pays $42,600 a year.
On Monday, the supervisors held a lightning round of interviews with the eight applicants before narrowing the pool down to three finalists during a closed-door session.
The names of the finalists were not being released until all eight had been notified by letter of the board’s decisions, according to County Attorney Joyce Chiles.
The three finalists will be invited to return for the board’s meeting next Monday for a second, more extensive interview session.
The eight applicants, in order of their appearance Monday, include:
nFred L. Randle, a sergeant with the Leflore County Sheriff’s Department.
Randle told the board that his overall mission, if he is selected, would be to “prepare Leflore County for disasters and to put it on the right track.”
Randle said he believes more could be done in the way of disaster preparedness.
“There are a lot of aspects in this county that we are not prepared for a disaster. I’ve been all over the state of Mississippi during disasters. You see the outcome of what they’re doing. It’s hard to come back home and see that we’re not prepared like they weren’t. I’d like to take this position and move it forward,” Randle said.
nMelvin Hudson, a retired commander with the U.S. Navy.
He has a bachelor’s degree in physics from Mississippi Valley State University and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Howard University.
Hudson said he served four years on nuclear submarines and was active in the Navy Reserve.
Outside of the Navy, he developed disaster and contingency plans for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
“I’ve been a leader. I’ve been a trainer,” Hudson said.
Hudson said he will be teaching biology at MVSU this fall.
nJason Doyle, a lifelong resident of Leflore County who has served both as a first responder and as a firefighter.
He said he has been interested in homeland security for the past several years, including working as a volunteer at the county Emergency Management Agency.
Doyle is currently finishing his online studies from a college in California. He is majoring in homeland security investigations.
In addition, Doyle said, he has completed several emergency preparedness training courses and even conducted a preparedness presentation at MVSU.
nTroy D. Brown Sr., a project officer with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the past eight years.
He said planning for disasters is critical.
“Let me tell you, ladies and gentlemen, there will be a disaster. There will be a disaster,” he said.
Brown said it’s been his experience that volunteers tend to be unprepared for emergencies.
That’s where planning plays a critical role.
“It is better to have a procedure in place as you go, instead of trying to figure all of this out after it’s over. I promise you it is,” Brown said.
He identified several deficiencies within Leflore County, including a high-pressure natural gas line that could pose potential problems in the event of an earthquake or other natural disaster.
He also said he’s had extensive experience with grant-writing — from each end with FEMA.
nHenderson T. Thomas, a U.S. Army veteran and retired correctional commander at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.
He cited his more than three decades in the Army as a major qualification.
nCapt. Terry T. Collins, a 16-year veteran of the Greenwood Fire Department.
He said he knows emergency management from bottom to top.
“I started at the bottom, and I love working at the bottom, even though a lot of times when you’re directing something, you have to direct it from the top, but you’ve got to understand what you’re working with at the bottom,” he said.
Collins, a U.S. Marine veteran and a former alderman in Shaw, said the Emergency Management Agency’s greatest strength is its volunteers. “You’ve got to work on their level,” he said.
He said he is a smoke diver, as was T.W. Cooper.
Collins said there are only 1,038 smoke divers in the U.S. — one of the highest firefighter ratings there is — and he’s the first one in Leflore County in 19 years.
nDorothy Ivory, who has worked in county emergency management for the past 21 years, most recently as administrative assistant to Cooper.
Ivory said she has the experience necessary to lead the agency, including in grant-writing.
nDavid Dale, a U.S. Air Force veteran, who currently lives in Sebastian, Fla.
He said he has experience both as a military police officer and as an operations officer.
Dale, a seventh-generation Mississippian with family in Carroll County, said he served in the Alabama State Guard and worked at both the state and county level.
He participated in the drafting of Alabama’s Emergency Management 2000 program and said he’s experienced in working with volunteers.
“I’ve served and I’ve taught,” he said.
In other action, the board accepted a $10,120 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The grant is intended to establish and train a local Citizen Corps, a group of volunteers who would help during disasters.
The board was also provided with preliminary budget numbers for the county’s $12 million general fund budget.
- Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
