Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 9, 1990                   TAG: 9005090533
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: VICTORIA RATCLIFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

3 CHIEF FINALISTS NAMED

Hodge said that of the three, John Cease, chief of police, Morgantown, W.Va.; and Hal Robins, deputy police chief in St. Petersburg, Fla., are in the lead. Gary Konzak, chief of police in LaGrange, Ill., is close behind, Hodge said.

The three finalists all scored well in an assessment conducted last week by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and all were unanimously recommended by Hodge's advisory committee. That committee is made up of the chiefs of police from Roanoke, Salem and Vinton, the county fire chief and county commonwealth's attorney.

Hodge said he is negotiating with his three top finalists this week and hopes to make a selection early next week.

"I'm trying to match the needs of the community with the three candidates," he said.

All nine applicants who were interviewed last week "are still viable candidates," Hodge said. "All can do an outstanding job." Ten candidates originally showed up for the interview process, but one had to drop out because of an illness in his family.

If, for some reason, Hodge is unable to come to an agreement with any of the top three candidates for the chief's position, he will go back to his advisory committee and re-evaluate the remaining candidates, he said.

"The chiefs committee has played and will continue to play a valuable role in the selection process," he said.

Ray Lavinder, a lieutenant in the county Sheriff's Department who was the only local candidate among the top 10 finalists, is among Hodge's top five candidates for the job. Lavinder supervises the criminal investigations division in the Sheriff's Department.

The finalists for the job were chosen from about 150 applicants.

Cease has been police chief in Morgantown since 1983 and began his career as a patrol officer in the Midwest. He has served as director of public safety for a large university and has a master's degree in criminal justice administration from Michigan State University. His department includes 48 sworn officers and 12 civilians.

Robbins began his career as a patrolman in St. Petersburg in 1972 and currently heads up all investigative functions for the department. He is responsible for a budget of more than $7 million and a staff of 140 people. He has a master's degree in criminal justice from the University of South Florida.

Konzak began his career as a police cadet at the LaGrange Police Department in 1968 and worked his way up to the position of chief. His department has a staff of 39 full-time employees. He has a master's degree in law enforcement administration.

County residents voted in November to take law enforcement duties away from an elected sheriff and create a police department that would be under the supervision of the county administrator. The vote appeared to support the contention of the Board of Supervisors that citizens were unhappy with Sheriff Mike Kavanaugh's performance in the two years he had been sheriff.

The police department is scheduled to begin operating July 1.