police chief

The Berry Town Council approved Bart Norris at its May 4 meeting as the interim, part-time replacement police chief for the Town of Berry during the federal deployment of Police Chief Gerald DeDeaux. All council members were present. The meeting was held at the Berry Civic Center due to the distancing requirements in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. DeDeaux will serve an overseas deployment of approximately one year, and Norris will be the acting chief during his absence. Norris previously served as police chief in Berry until his retirement in August 2012.

Former Fayette Police Chief and former Fayette City Councilman Mike Hardin passed away at his residence on Wednesday, May 22 at the age of 70. Hardin began work at the Fayette Police Department in Feb. 1979 and was promoted to sergeant in March 1985. He became chief of the police department in Jan. 1995 and remained in that position until he retired in July 1999.

Former Fayette police chief Ralph Crawford Olive Sr. passed away on Saturday, Sept. 1 at the Veterans Administration Medical Center at the age of 77. Olive was born in Berry on Sept. 24, 1940, and graduated from Berry High School in 1958. His career with the Fayette Police Department began in 1965, and Olive served as the Fayette police chief from Oct. 1972 until his retirement in Dec. 1994. Current Fayette police chief Danny Jenkins said that Olive was a big influence on his life. “He gave me my start in law enforcement,” Jenkins said.