Goodbye and Good Luck
By Joelyn Hansen
Police Chief Wanted: Any man or woman willing to fill these shoes is encouraged to apply.
It’s a complete understatement that Mayor Furhiman has a difficult task ahead of him to replace retiring Police Chief Steve Roos.
Many of those, including myself, that have had the pleasure of working closely with him know that he truly is a man of integrity, honesty , respect, fairness and valor. Most importantly, you quickly come to know that he dedicated himself to serving the people of Idaho Falls for 31 years with honor.
It’s true that there are some that disagreed with how Steve fulfilled his duties as chief. That could be said about anyone in any position as nobody is perfect. And if you consider the responsibilities required of the chief, it’s near impossible to make everyone happy.However, I would find that many would agree that Steve never wavered from what he believed to be right and when he was wrong, he was the first to admit it.
When I first hired on with the department nearly two years ago, Steve encouraged me to challenge him when I disagreed with any decision he made. At first, I was like, in no way am I going to challenge my boss! Who does that?! And what kind of boss encourages that?!
I quickly learned that he was serious! He truly did listen to reasonable arguments and he wanted people to be involved in the decision-making process. I must say that I’ve learned to love hearing the words, “you’re right Joelyn”, from the chief!
And I quickly learned that if I played my cards right, I could even convince him that wearing women’s shoes was an important part of his duties as chief!
I’m fortunate to have been able to work with Steve, both in the department and as a journalist. It was an honor to work with him, especially in changing the caliber of communication with the public.
Steve, thanks for leaving big shoes to fill. Goodbye and good luck!