Upholding the law in a small town has its own set of challenges, according to Pineville Marshal Chris Owens.
"It's a small town and you deal with people differently than you would in a bigger one," he said. "Maintaining the respect with the people and having the people maintain respect with us as well; that way everyone treats each other properly. Sometimes with traffic accidents, it's someone you know, and that gets difficult too."
Owens has been the marshal for three years. He was appointed his first year, and he is halfway into his first four-year term.
"I love this place," he said. "It's a nice town. When I started working here, I lived in Barry County and I knew I wanted to live here, so I moved my wife and kids here. It's a nice town with a lot of history."
Owens has brought in several new officers in the past year. They include Jordan Wills, Mike Moore, Malachi Sjorlund, Jairus Moore and Jake Leake. Wills is full-time and the rest are part-time.
"I've brought on several younger officers, trying to start the next generation," he noted.
He also said he is hoping to get some new police cars. He is looking at prices.
"It's a close-knit community," he said of Pineville, "which is a good thing. We get a lot of community policing too, which helps us a lot. If someone sees something going on, they call us, which helps us a lot, especially during the summer time. It's a small town. Everybody knows me. They know my officers. That, to me, is a plus. They know what to expect from the officers. My door's always open. We don't come to the office to hide from people. We come in to be available to people."
Owens also said, "Our equipment's great. Our council's great. Our people are absolutely wonderful. One thing I've noticed that's different from some other places I've worked is the council always backs us up in an ever-changing world. Equipment-wise, I couldn't be happier. That comes from the support of the people and the support of the council."
General News on 10/18/2018