Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 31, 1993 TAG: 9401050185
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
Carey, 47, will start his new job as police chief in Independence, Mo., on Jan. 10.
Thursday, sporting a Kansas City Chiefs sweat shirt and hat, he said his plan was ``to clean up, pack up, have a nice lunch and get out of town.''
He's not a pack-rat so there was little to throw away except notes and paperwork that are no longer needed.
``See how decisive I am,'' he said as he pitched items in the trash can.
But there were a few keepers: pictures of his children when they were young, pictures of him with brown hair - before the gray set in during his tenure in Blacksburg.
Carey has overseen many changes since he became chief in 1980. The new Police Department building at Clay and Draper streets was just being built when he was hired. The department's office was in the basement of the municipal building.
The growth of the department's offices has mirrored a growth in the department's services, staffing, training and professionalism.
Under Carey's leadership - and, he said, because of the efforts of the men and women who worked for him - the department has:
Gained national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, becoming one of several hundred police departments nationwide to gain this professional status. Carey calls this the ``crowning glory'' of his career in Blacksburg.
Gained high approval ratings from residents during regular surveys of satisfaction with town services. In last year's survey, the police garnered an 80 percent approval rating with 33 percent of respondents rating the department as excellent.
Installed the state's first electronic magistrate program where officers bring suspects before a magistrate over a closed-circuit video and audio link to Christiansburg rather than actually driving them to the county seat.
When his new job was announced, Carey said he had mixed emotions about leaving Blacksburg and the lifelong friends he's made.
But Thursday, it was apparent that he's also looking forward to the move.
``The problem is - it's time to go on. You can't be looking back with regret because I don't regret anything,'' Carey said.
Independence, with a population of 113,000, is about three times the size of Blacksburg. Carey will earn $70,000 a year, about $7,000 more than his current salary.
The Independence Police Department has 240 full-time employees and an annual budget of $11.5 million.
He said he doesn't have an agenda for change in Missouri. Independence city leaders are in need of a strong leader for the Police Department, Carey said, and ``I'm looking for someplace to stay until I retire.''
Joyce Bishop, a patrol officer for the town, said Carey will be missed.
``He's always been fair with me,'' Bishop said. ``... I will miss him immensely.''
Bishop said Carey took the time to get to know his staff.
``We know him. He speaks to you when he sees you. That's unusual. Sometimes, the big people ignore you,'' Bishop said.
Lt. Kim Crannis is grateful for the opportunities for advancement at the Blacksburg Police Department.
Crannis started as a patrol officer in 1984, moving up as a detective, sergeant, and then to her current rank. She was offered a job with the Roanoke Police Department the same day she was hired at Blacksburg, but believes the smaller department afforded her faster opportunities for advancement.
Louis Barber, Montgomery County's former sheriff, praised Carey for his professionalism and his approach to meeting the needs of police and his community.
In about a decade of working together, the county Sheriff's Office and Blacksburg worked together on several joint projects, including a communications tower, a firing range, a mutual-aid agreement and establishing a temporary lock-up facility at Blacksburg to save officers' travel time when making arrests.
``Don and I got along real well and became very close personal friends,'' Barber said.
``We just never had a problem that we couldn't sit down and talk about. ... I guess the basis of our professional relationship was if either of us needed anything, you asked for it.''
Independence may seem to be a leap for Carey, but Barber said Carey came here from the large Metro-Dade Police Department in Miami, moving up the ranks from patrol officer to become the youngest lieutenant and captain ever promoted.
Tom Goodale, Virginia Tech's vice president for student affairs, said Carey worked hard to see that relations with the university community were good.
``He's really going to be missed by us,'' Goodale said. ``I think he understood college students real well.''
Goodale praised Carey for his ability to ``size up a situation and approach it rather than come in as a heavy. That approach really works'' and was evident in Carey's plan of action to deal with a Ku Klux Klan march about three years ago, and more recently, his efforts to help remedy problems created by massive block parties at the beginning and end of the school year.
Carey developed a comprehensive plan to deal with the Klan's march three years ago, spending six weeks meeting and training the university and town community. And Carey was instrumental in organizing a task force to look at problems created by the block parties, eventually leading to a town ordinance outlining restrictions on large gatherings.
With most of his belongings packed up, Carey finds something he must leave behind. He walks down the hall to Capt. William Brown's office and tosses him a package of Tums. Brown, a veteran with the department and acting chief before Carey, will be acting chief while the town searches for Carey's replacement.
by CNB