Karen McNeese has seen a lot of changes in the Emporia Police Department over her 31 1/2 years there.
McNeese, who started as a meter maid in June 1975, retired from the department in December and to start a new career.
When McNeese started out at EPD, she did everything that parking enforcers do today including enforcing parking regulations at meters and in time zone parking such as two-hour lots.
McNeese stayed in the meter maid position for three years. She then was asked to type reports.
“We typed them on a manual typewriter,” McNeese said. “I saw it (the department) go from typewriters to computers. We used to type reports on three by five recipe cards.”
In March of 1984, the Emporia Police Department went to its first computer system. In their spare time, employees would enter the information from the index cards into the computer.
“Probably for a year we were doing that,” McNeese said.
The department went to its current computer system in 1996, McNeese said.
“I told myself that one was the last one I was going to learn and it was,” she said.
She also worked the phone system until the county took over answering the city/county switchboard.
McNeese said she saw a lot of administration changes in the Emporia Police Department.
“Some were good, some were bad,” she said. “I saw a lot of changes in the department as it has grown and we’ve grown.”
Through all the administration changes, one person sticks out in her mind, McNeese said, Chief Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez was her supervisor when he was captain of services. Rodriguez, who died in 2003, became chief in the 1990s and retired in 2000.
“His death was a big loss to the community,” McNeese said. “It was hard on the department and the community.”
McNeese said she enjoyed her job through the years.
“I liked what I did,” she said. “I like my type of work. It also had a retirement plan through KPERS. I had a goal to say there until full retirement.”
McNeese didn’t quite make it to full retirement with EPD but she will begin drawing retirement next year, she said.
“I had an opportunity to start a new career at Better Life Technology,” she said. “It’s not quite as stressful. I think it will be interesting learning something totally different,” she said. “It was a good choice. I knew my supervisor and I knew it would be a good opportunity.”
McNeese’s boss is David Jamison, who is a former police officer and detective at EPD.
“I’ve known him for 25 years,” McNeese said.