Mamou council names interim police chief

The Mamou Town Council appointed Allen Noel as interim police chief, replacing former chief Robert McGee who resigned earlier in October.
The council held a special meeting on Oct. 26 to appoint an interim police chief and address personnel recommendations made by Police Chief Administrative Assistant Stephanie Ortego.
Ortego also recommended hiring Nicole Price and Christopher Lemaire as full-time officers.
Leisa Deshotel, council member and mayor pro-tem, stated, “This council has been given a huge task. To appoint a position that in normal cases is an elected position is a very important duty and has not been taken lightly. I think each member of the council has been approached by at least one person who was interested in this appointment, but in most cases, they had the intention of becoming a candidate in the special election. While we are happy to see so many people interested in serving, we have come to the conclusion that it is not in the best interest of this town to appoint a person who has this intention. Our main objective is to make sure that our town is protected and served, so to appoint someone with no political aspirations will allow them to focus on the department and make the difficult and crucial decisions that must be made. We wish all of the candidates luck and are prepared and excited to work with the next chief of police elected by the people of our great town.”
The council approved Noel’s appointment as well the hiring of both Price and Lemaire.
The special election to fill McGee’s remaining term will be held on March 5, 2016, with a April 9 runoff if needed.
Mayor Ricky Fontenot and the council members also took time at Monday’s meeting to thank the community for supporting the 1 percent millage tax renewal that passed in the Oct. 24 election.