The Commercial-News, Danville, IL

Local News

Related Photos

Discussion

May 28, 2008

Time for a change

Police chief retires after 32 years

BY DENNIS BARTLOW

COVINGTON, Ind. — A longtime fixture in the Covington, Ind., Police Department will turn in his badge Friday, and report for duty in the classroom as an instructor this fall.

Knecht will retire after 32 years as a Covington police officer. He has been police chief since 1980.

“When I started, you knew the people and the families,” he said.

In today’s society, that can be more difficult.

“We try to be pro-active,” he said. “We go into the schools. We talk to the kindergarten about staying away from people they don’t know. In the second grade we teach bike safety. We progressively go through the school.”

Knecht said he has a good rapport with the area schools. And that is one reason why he is taking the next step teaching a law enforcement class.

“That way I will still have some contact (with police work),” he said.

Currently, 12 students are signed up for the class from the four schools in Fountain and Warren counties in the cooperative.

“It is a competitive class for juniors and seniors interested in pursing law enforcement or secondary education,” he said. “They have to have a background check.”

The class is 2½ hours each day. The rest of the school day Knecht will be a student resource officer.

In Knecht’s 32 years on the Covington police force there has been only one murder — in 1978 — but numerous fatal accidents on U.S. Route 136 and Interstate 74 that he has covered. He especially remembers three high school students killed in a wreck, also in 1978.

“We’ve had our share of burglaries,” Knecht said. “When I started, it was fights and drunks. Now, drugs are a lot worse.”

City Councilman Max Keller was police chief when Knecht was hired as a police officer.

“I knew he would be a good officer,” Keller said. “Tony is a very personable person. He works well with the public. He has developed the department. He has a lot more equipment than we had.”

Keller, another longtime police chief, retired in 1979. Eight months later, Knecht was named police chief. Knecht heads a force of six full-time police officers and four part-time officers. Larry Weber, a longtime police officer, will replace Knecht as chief. They average 5,000 to 6,000 calls a year.

“Thirty-two years is long enough,” he said. “It is time for a change.”

Although he switched his majors a couple time at Indiana State University, he has not regretted going into police work.

“You have to want to be a police officer,” Knecht said. “You have to want to do what you are doing.”

KNECHT FILE

Name: Tony Knecht

Position: Covington Police Chief

Age: 54

Education: Graduate of Covington High School; bachelor of science degree from Indiana State University

Experience: Part-time in the Fountain County Sheriff’s Department while in college; police department at Toledo, Ohio; 32 years with the Covington Police Department and as police chief since Jan. 1, 1980

OPEN HOUSE

An open house for retiring Covington Police Chief Tony Knecht will be from noon to 3 p.m. EDT Friday at the city building, 1329 Second St.

Text Only
Local News
  • Tropical Storm Beryl strengthens, nears U.S. coast

    Tropical Storm Beryl was wrecking some Memorial Day weekend plans on Sunday, causing shoreline campers to pack up and head inland and leading to the cancellation of some events as the storm approached the southeastern U.S.

    May 27, 2012

  • CASA seeks volunteers

    May 27, 2012

  • Classes transition online

    May 27, 2012

  • AmyandRomanSchweizer1.jpg Dad welcomes baby — while a world away

    Like most fathers, Brandun Schweizer wanted to witness his first child’s birth. There was just one problem, however — he was thousands of miles away in Afghanistan.

    May 27, 2012 2 Photos

  • Veterans ask people to pause

    Although the Memorial Day weekend is a time for picnics and pool parties, veterans’ groups hope people pause to remember those who gave their lives in the line of duty, as well as others who have died.

    May 27, 2012

  • Martha Stewart learns family’s roots

    Television viewers have been treated to two series lately dealing with genealogy.

    May 27, 2012

  • Haiti touches her heart Haiti touches her heart

    Janis Ostiguy of Danville experiences many emotions each time she visits Haiti — sadness at the poverty, happiness with the children, warmth for the people and their spirit.

    May 27, 2012 3 Photos

  • Turtles return to race

    Collected turtles are being fed fruits, meat and vegetables and will be ready to go for the 48th Annual Turtle Races.

    May 27, 2012

  • Hiker’s heart is in America's Highlands

    Robert Burns, the immortal Scottish poet, once wrote, “My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here; my heart’s in the Highlands, a’chasing the wild deer; a’chasing the wild deer, and following the roe; my heart’s in the Highlands, wherever I go.”

    May 27, 2012

  • Posters recall Cannon’s 1880 opponent Posters recall Cannon’s 1880 opponent

    In 1980, John Mendenhall found three 1880 J. R. Scott campaign posters in a home he was restoring.

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo