By By Suzanne Monk/The Meridian Star
Sept. 29, 2001
Capt. Roger Welborn confirmed Friday that he is in the running for Meridian's top law enforcement job chief of the Meridian Police Department.
Welborn joined the police department in 1981. He is the day shift "A Watch" commander and the most senior captain of the seven in the department's command structure.
A native of Meridian, Welborn says he wants to help the area grow.
Welborn served in the U.S. Army before joining the MPD. He used the GI Bill to earn an associate's degree in police sciences at Meridian Community College while working for the police department.
He and his wife, Helen, attend church at First Assembly of God and have four children Wayne, 20, Shelia, 19, Kimberly, 16, and J.D., 11.
The only other known contender for the job of chief of the Meridian Police Department is Benny DuBose. He was formerly the assistant chief of the department and is now serving as acting chief.
The police chief's position has been vacant since early July, when former Police Chief Gregg Lewis announced his retirement. Lewis' last official day on the job was July 20, his seventh anniversary as chief, although he had been out of the office on vacation for several weeks before then.
Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith has consistently declined to comment on the process he is going through to choose a new chief, but said earlier this month that he hoped to fill the vacancy by mid- to late September.
Calls to the mayor's office were not returned, and it is not known who else may have been interviewed for the job.
Suzanne Monk is managing editor of The Meridian Star. Call her at 693-1551, ext. 3229, or e-mail her at smonk@themeridianstar.com.