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 By JENNIFER TANGEMAN
Staff Writer
Few people exhibit an enthusiasm about historical artifacts as Jim Bowsher does.
When crews working for G.A. Wintzer and Son Co. started working to build new office space on West Auglaize Street, they came across some interesting finds where a rental home had previously sat.
Jim Kent and others of Kent Surveying began finding pieces of artifacts. They called in local history buff, Bowsher, to try to figure out what the bits and pieces meant.
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Friday, 16 October 2009 |
 Wapakoneta Police Chief Dave Webb is serving his last day on the job today, ending a 26-year career with the Wapakoneta Police Department. Staff photo/Karen Campbell By KAREN CAMPBELL
Assistant Managing Editor
Even though the Wapakoneta Police chief cannot remember a time when he did not want to be a cop, upon his retirement he said he is going to take a break from law enforcement.
“My feelings now are that it’s time to get out of police work,” Police Chief Dave Webb said this week as he looked toward his last day on the job today. “Down the road I might like to get into it again somehow, maybe by getting on an auxiliary in the future, but at this point I want to get out of police work.”
Webb said personally, after 26 years on the job — seven of which were spent as chief — it was just the right time for him to make that step.
“I’m young enough to do something else,” the 48-year-old said. “What that is right now, I don’t know. I’m looking into several options.”
Growing up, Webb said it was seeing his father every day in uniform from his job at the Oakwood Forensic Center in Lima that inspired him to pursue a career in law enforcement.
“When I saw him with that badge, he looked larger than life to me,” Webb said. “I remember being a little boy and looking up to him.
“A lot of young kids think they want to be cops when they grow up but then change their minds,” he said. “I never did.”
Ronald “Curley” Webb, who also was a member of the Ohio State Highway Patrol auxiliary, served as a security guard for Oakwood. He was the type of person everyone went to for advice, said his son.
Through the police chief’s career he continued to turn to his father for his wisdom.
“You need people to talk to,” Webb said. “You try not to take work home, but it happens.”
He also found inspiration and wisdom from his uncles, Don Webb, who served as police chief of Uniopolis and chief of security at St. Rita’s Medical Center, and John “Bud” Webb, a supervisor at Scot Lad Foods in Lima.
“At times being a police officer has been what I expected, at times its been frustrating and challenging, and at times even fulfilling, when you can help somebody and you know you’re making a difference,” Webb said. “A lot of times, you don’t have time to think about the impact down the road, you’re just busy doing the job you have to do.”
He said it becomes difficult to remember specific incidents or big investigations, but Webb took pride in knowing justice was served.
Webb said he always knew he had a helper with him, no matter how bad a situation might get.
“I know God is watching out for me,” Webb said. “There have been times when during a domestic situation I’ve struggled to get a gun away from someone and I know the Lord is there helping me.”
Pointing to a flag patch on his right chest, that reads “For God And Country,” Webb said it really means something to him.
“That’s part of what makes the job so fulfilling, we’re not just doing it for the public,” Webb said.
The 1980 Wapakoneta High School graduate started as a member of the Wapakoneta Police Department’s auxiliary at midnight the day he turned 21, the required age to serve.
“I was so excited about the job,” Webb said.
A couple years later he joined the police department full-time in October of 1983.
“When you start out being a cop, you don’t think about someday wanting to be chief,” Webb said. “You just want to conquer the world. I loved the job and wanted to help people. Often you end up making a bigger impact than you realize.”
He said unfortunately sometimes a big part of the job — enforcing the law — to keep the public safe is met with opposition.
“In this job you don’t hear a lot about doing a good job but that’s just something you have to accept,” Webb said.
Webb, who grew up in Uniopolis, said he always wanted a job with the local department, so much so that he turned down a job with the St. Marys Police Department before former Wapakoneta Police Chief Bill Wolfe, who the chief also uses as a sounding board, extended an offer to him.
In the years since, Webb has worked every shift and in May 1991 was promoted to lieutenant, a position he held until he was thrown into acting chief 11 years later when then Police Chief Dave Harrison resigned as he was being investigated on obscenity-related charges, some of which allegedly occurred in the office.
Approximately six months later, in October 2002, Webb was officially promoted to police chief after receiving the highest score on a Civil Service Commission test.
Civil Service Commission members plan Monday to review results from the testing company for contested questions by the two candidates for the chief position, Lt. Greg Lowry and Lt. Russ Hunlock. Webb said based on those results, a new chief should be named by mid-November.
He has worked with both throughout the week on the job. and Lowry is to serve as acting chief until the new chief is named.
Webb said stepping in as police chief when he did was the most challenging time of his career.
“The entire department had to work together to get through it,” Webb said. “I’m thankful that they did that. It was tough.”
Webb said at first he missed being on the road, but soon found his niche leading those that were, interacting with the staff and public, giving informative talks, following up on complaints, being closely connected with city officials, and keeping the public informed of the news everyday, all of which he said are major components of the job.
“There are still times when I miss being on the road though, that’s where the roots of this career are,” Webb said.
A graduate of Edison State Community College in criminal justice in 1983, Webb credits part of his ability to deal with people well to several years spent as a boy delivering newspapers in Uniopolis.
“I learned a great deal about dealing with people,” Webb said. “To this day, I honestly believe that helped me with my communication skills.”
Dave Webb and his wife of 26 years, Libby, have two daughters, Kelly and Renee, who are pursuing careers in medical and pharmaceutical fields.
His mother, Pat Webb, is famous for the homemade pies she brings into the police department often along with thank you cards for what the officers and dispatchers do.
“I’m thankful to my personal Lord and savior Jesus Christ, without whom I wouldn’t be in this position,” Webb said, “my family and children for their understanding, the people who work here and have worked here for making me look good, and the community for all their support of me and the police department and their continued support of the new chief.”
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 17 October 2009 )
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