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County emergency manager leaving his job
On day when tinderbox conditions were creating wildfires around the area, Bourbon County Emergency Manager Keith Jeffers was on the scene. Jeffers has been everywhere the past four and a half years whenever there is a disaster -- whether it's stormy weather or a grass or house fire.
Jeffers is leaving his post effective Aug. 31 to take a position with Kansas Emergency Management in Salina.
The 50-year-old Orange County, Calif., native has formed Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), trained storm spotters and conducted a variety of training sessions for local first responders. He'll be doing much the same thing in Salina, although he could not give his title since it's "not totally official yet."
Jeffers said the Bourbon County Commission will likely appoint an interim emergency manager at their meeting today at the Bourbon County Courthouse. He makes $28,500 annually.
Jeffers served on Navy submarines for six years back in the early 1980s and was executive secretary of the Scottish Rite Temple in Fort Scott. "This position (emergency manager) is a lot of planning and training and that's what my background is. I did a lot of planning for large events," he said of his tenure with the Scottish Rite.
He said he'll miss the area, however, he's looking forward to taking on his new position and duties.
"I'm sad to leave a bunch of our friends behind, but I'm excited to go into a new career," Jeffers said. "I'll miss a lot of the (first) responders, firefighters, police, the sheriff's deputies. They all put their lives on the line for citizens and it's my job to support them. I'll get to do that as a state employee."
On Thursday, Jeffers could still be found out in the field monitoring a fire at 45th Street and Indian Road.
He said the Bourbon County District 3 Volunteer Fire Department was fighting a blaze at Yellowstone and Highway 3. "They've been keeping ahead of everything they can," he said.
Jeffers and his wife, Liz, have two children, Kyle, who is in college, and 7-year-old Graecin. Liz runs Playpen Daycare in Fort Scott.