Retired Fire Chief and Undersheriff Working for OEM

Former fire chief Michael Dyer and undersheriff Don Patterson, both recently retired, will work part-time over the next year for the county’s Office of Emergency Management to analyze the area’s environmental and technological hazards. The two will be paid $60 per hour and will earn a combined $75,000, all of which will be covered by a Homeland Security grant; county officials said hiring third-party consultants would cost upward of $125,000.