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

DATE: FRIDAY, August 25, 1995                   TAG: 9508250096
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

COUNTY'S CHIEF MAY BE LEAVING

Roanoke County Administrator Elmer Hodge confirmed Thursday that Cease had been interviewed for the job.

Hodge said Cease told him three weeks ago that he was one of 10 finalists. The Courier-Journal in Louisville is reporting today that Cease is one of six candidates being considered.

Cease had checked out of a Louisville hotel Thursday and could not be reached for comment.

His interest in a new position did not surprise Hodge, who hired Cease five years ago to begin Roanoke County's new Police Department. In 1989, county residents voted to take law-enforcement duties away from an elected sheriff.

Under Cease, the department became the first in the Roanoke Valley to be nationally accredited.

Recently, however, Cease had to deal with internal strife. He commissioned an informal study of the department's high turnover rate, and his officers challenged the county over pay inequities.

Hodge said that Cease has received other offers and that his interest in Jefferson County was not a result of any problems within his department. When Cease took the job in 1990, he mentioned that five or six years would likely be his limit, Hodge said.

"He has achieved a lot here," Hodge said. "We've gone through certification and seen the department mature. He has built it into one of the finest institutions in the state. It's no surprise that another locality would consider him."

Jefferson County is a mix of urban, suburban and rural communities with about 665,000 people. It is a bedroom community to Louisville, which has its own police force.

An 11-member committee is conducting the search for a new police chief. The former Jefferson County police chief retired after The Courier-Journal reported that he solicited illegal contributions from his staff and may have compromised an investigation into a possible rape by a county police officer.