Ozark hires fire chief

The district hired Gordon Dippel to be its new fire chief, effective March 1. Dippel, a senior shift commander with the Winfield Fire Department in Winfield, Kan., will retire from his current post Feb. 23.

Dippel, who spent 29 years with the Winfield department, said Ozark appealed to him because it is so comparable in size and feel to Winfield. He will make about $50,000 annually from Ozark, in addition to the retirement benefits he’ll receive from Winfield.

Dippel joins a department facing a lawsuit by former fire chief Jake Archer, who says he was wrongfully fired in September. That case, filed in Christian County Circuit Court, is in the deposition phase.

Board members say Archer was let go due to various infractions, including inappropriate personal use of company computers and allowing his daughter to drive company vehicles.

Archer says it was a personal attack on him because of his knowledge of illegal activities by members of the board.

Archer’s firing came on the heels of former employee Stacey Scrivener being charged with stealing more than $20,000 from the district. That case is scheduled for a March 9 preliminary hearing.

Dippel said the current situation with the department is something he’s not sure how he’ll deal with.

“I don’t know where they’re at right now, so I don’t really know specifically what needs to be accomplished,” he said, adding that the department’s current legal issues were something he’s “not informed enough to even make a comment on.”

Ozark Fire Protection Board member Stephanie Regan, who also headed the five-member search committee, said all the applicants were aware of the district’s legal situations, including Archer’s lawsuit, very early in the process.

“We were very up front with everyone we talked to, and everyone had done their homework,” Regan said. “They were all aware of it, and it didn’t seem to bother them. (All the applicants) also got legal advice beforehand, and they were told the same thing. No one’s really concerned with it at this point.”

A five-member panel screened and interviewed the applicants; the panel comprised Regan, OFPD firefighter Darin Miller, OFPD Acting Chief Troy Boline, Ozark Police Chief Lyle Hodges and retired Springfield Assistant Fire Chief Dale Bittle.

Regan added that the hiring process, which included narrowing a field of 21 initial applicants down to three finalists who were interviewed for the position, had to be done now.

“(The Archer case) could be a year or two away from resolution, and we had to get on with this,” Regan said. “We couldn’t wait for that to be resolved. We couldn’t let things go that long without a chief.”[[In-content Ad]]