By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The city of Centralia is inviting the public to come and meet the five finalists for the position of police chief.
The candidates come from as far away as Illinois and as close as the Hub City. Current police Cmdr. James Rich is among them.
The open house will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, at the Centralia train depot, according to the city’s human resources director, Candice Rydalch.
“It’s just an opportunity for people to see the people, ask questions if they want,” Rydalch said.
Centralia Police Department Chief Bob Berg is retiring in May, after 11 years as chief.
Rydalch said the nationwide search brought in 20 applicants.
The five individuals will be interviewed on Tuesday, she said.
She expects the city manager will then narrow it down to one or two of them and conduct background checks before making a final selection. An announcement could come a week or two after that, she said.
The evening gathering will take place in the conference room at the south end of the depot, at 210 Railroad Avenue.
The following are the finalists:
• Rod Baker, from Sammamish
• James Held, from Libertyville, Ill.
• Carl Nielsen, from Ripon, Calif.
• James Rich, from Centralia
• Maurice Richards, from Chicago, Ill.