Schilz a good choice

The selection of Nick Schilz as the new police chief of Mountain Home is a good choice.

It provides significant "community continuity" in that Nick knows and understands the community and its issues.

Nick's personality also is similar to highly respected former Police Chief John Walter. He's relatively quiet and very friendly, but he has a backbone, will fight for his department and the people of the community he serves, and has a highly developed ethical sense.

For years, serving as chief deputy, Nick has been the main administrator for the sheriff's office. He's the one that has handled the vast bulk of the day-to-day paperwork for the sheriff, so he has extensive administrative skills, something a good police chief needs.

He also served for many years as the county's disaster services director, so he has experience working and coordinating his efforts with other agencies.

He's going to be a big loss to Sheriff Rick Layher, but Rick's loss is Mountain Home's gain.

We predict Nick will do a good job and continue the tradition of continually improving the quality and standards of the Mountain Home Police Department, one of the best local police forces in the state.