The new director of the Jasper County 9-1-1 dispatch center is the same man who has held the post for the past seven months.

The Jasper County Emergency Services Board of Directors chose to stick with Rich Nordell, the former information services manager at the center who has held the director's post on an interim basis for the past seven months.

Nordell said the vote was unanimous after the board sifted through the six resumes it received for the post, which was vacated last October when the board fired Ron Boyer.
Nordell said he's been making changes at the dispatch center since he took over.

"I told them when I took over I wasn't just going to be a caretaker director, and they told me I had full authority to make whatever changes I felt necessary," Nordell said. "I'm proud to know that they were pleased with my performance and I plan to be in this position for quite a while."

Nordell is a 10-year U.S. Navy veteran, having served as an electronics technician at shore bases and on board a Los Angeles-class fast attack nuclear submarine immediately after graduating from high school.

He also served as a naval instructor.

Nordell's other experience includes:

• A one year contract position with Liebher Mining Truck in Baxter Springs KS which entailed overhauling their entire computer network.

• Worked in the IT department with Leggett & Platt and served eight and a half years before taking the information service manager position with Jasper County Emergency Services.

• Graduated from Missouri Southern State University with a degree in computer information science.

In other business, the board changed how holiday work hours are figured and rewrote its maternity policy to bring it more in line with the federal family and medical leave act.
They redesignated the policy as a parental leave policy.