Boone Police chief to retire

By Scott Nicholson

Boone Police Chief Bill Post is stepping down at the end of July after 11 years leading the Boone police force.

Post has been police chief since 1998. He was eligible for retirement last year, but stayed on to help with transition as six long-time department personnel retired.

"I think he has been a wonderful chief of police," said Boone mayor Loretta Clawson. "One of the things I like about Bill is he's been out there in the community and serves on several boards. That's something we're going to look for in the next chief."

Clawson said Post's tenure has been marked by visibility and positivity. "We have a very professional police force and a lot of that is due to his leadership," she said. "We would have liked him to stay a few more years, but he wants to do some traveling and some things he hasn't been able to do as chief of police.

"He told us he would stay on to see us through the repositioning of different people. All the new qualified people have certainly left us in good position. One of the things he wanted to do is leave the force in good shape."

Town manager Greg Young is in charge of hiring, with an assessment pool and interview process in place. The town has received more than 100 applications and hopes to make a decision soon.

"If we can find another Bill Post, I would be happy with that," Clawson said.