Donna Waters has been in law enforcement all her adult life. Now age 35, Waters will head her own department. She takes over as Zebulon's chief ofpolice September 8th.
"I'm looking forward to that, to get to know the people again. In Jacksonville, i got to know a lot of the folks that lived in town, andit was a wonderful relationship."
The first female chief in Zebulon, she started as a police officer inJacksonville, North Carolina. Since 1993, she's been assistant chief ofpolice at RDU airport.
She takes over a unit filled mostly with men, a department that's seen itsshare of troubles, like an officer arrested for illegally using credit cards taken from a suspect. The department hasn't had a leader for morethan a year, falling instead under the fire chief under the umbrella ofpublic safety.
"It's a question of delineation of authority," said John Koffa, Zebulontown manager. "We sensed that the police department needed its ownleadership."
"I think we're all ready for a chief to come in and somebody who we knowis going to be here, and be here for a while," said Officer DeborahHargett, Zebulon Police Department.
A strict disciplinarian, Waters has already told her officers she expects honesty and integrity - two things designed to repair damaged public relations and boost morale.
"We've got to train. We've got to learn about each other," said Waters. "We've got to learn whether we can do the right things and get away fromthe wrong."
And concentrate on the top priority, keeping the peace.
Until she's sworn in, Waters will divide her time between the airport andthe Zebulon town hall. Her first priority is to sift through employmentapplications to fill two openings on the force.
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