Wauneta likely to get deputy based there

    Talks on getting a Wauneta-based sheriff’s deputy have stalled, but the village may get one anyway—and at no direct extra cost to the village.
    Chase County Sheriff Keith Mueller said, “It’s more than likely going to happen.”
    Mueller appeared before the county commissioners this month to tell them that because the county no longer has two state troopers in the area because the State Patrol has reorganized its operations, and with an increasing case load, he wants to hire another deputy. Mueller also wants to be more proactive in dealing with the county’s increasing drug problem.
    Former Chase County Deputy Mike Dukes is interested in returning, he said, and would live in Wauneta.
     “I’ve been advertising,” Mueller said in a phone interview. “Mike’s the only one who’s applied for the job, so it’s more than likely that’s going to happen.”
    Earlier this year, Deputy Duncan Einspahr met twice with village trustees to discuss having a Wauneta-based deputy. Einspahr said if that were to happen, it would be a good idea to increase the hours in the contract from 80 a month to 120 and have the hourly rate the village pays the county hiked from $22.90 to $24, meaning an annual cost of $34,560.
    Trustees were unconvinced that the extra cost to village taxpayers was justified and the discussion petered out.
    But Mueller now is talking about hiring the additional deputy anyway, and since Dukes appears to be the candidate, that person will be in Wauneta.

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