Dickson Mayor Don L. Weiss Jr. announced Wednesday that Chief Ricky
Chandler has made his pending retirement effective immediately and Jeff Lewis has been
appointed interim chief of the Dickson Police Department.
Weiss announced at the May 1 meeting of the Dickson City Council that Chandler had notified
him of his plan to retire effective July 3 after 33 years of service with the department, including
the last 25 as chief. Weiss said he was notified Tuesday by Chandler that he is making his
retirement effective immediately.

The city has already begun the process of selecting a new chief of police. Weiss named Lewis to
serve as interim chief until a replacement is selected.

Lewis has worked for the City of Dickson for 29 years, starting as a police officer, then serving
as director of the Parks and Recreation Department and currently is director of the Public Works
Department, which includes the street, sanitation, parks, building and grounds, fleet
maintenance, cemetery and right-of- way maintenance departments.

“I am confident that with his law enforcement and supervisory experience, Jeff will be able to
keep the Dickson Police Department operating at its normal professional level until a new chief
is named,” Weiss said in making the announcement. “Jeff has been overseeing a department with
a budget in excess of $5 million, almost equal to the police and fire department budgets
combined, with a staff comparable in size to those departments. He will rely on the men and
women of the City of Dickson’s Police and Public Works departments to be a critical part of
maintaining our high level of service through this transition.”

The announcement was made to supervisors in both departments Wednesday morning. Weiss
said he hopes to have a new chief of the Dickson Police Department named by the start of the
new fiscal year on July 1.

The Dickson County School System is partnering with Austin Peay State University to provide an opportunity for high school students from both Creek Wood and Dickson County High Schools to take college courses at a central Dickson County location. Students would attend college classes taught by APSU faculty in the morning at the central location and return to their respective high school for lunch and afternoon classes or activities.

Students could begin taking classes the summer after completing the sophomore year of high school. For those students who participate summer, fall, and spring semesters of their junior and senior years of high school, they could graduate with an associate’s degree at the same time they graduate from high school. Student unable to participate in summer terms could still complete approximately 37 hours of college credit during fall and spring semesters, classifying them as a sophomore in college when they graduate from high school. Online courses would also be an option for some classes.

Utilizing the Tennessee Dual Enrollment Grant and APSU Dual Enrollment scholarships, in addition to a tuition rate specifically for dual enrollment students, families can save over $13,000 in college expenses.

A meeting will be held Tuesday, March 28, 6pm at the Bibb Center in White Bluff, Tennessee. For more information, please contact Dr. Robbie Faulkner, Director of Secondary Education, Dickson County Schools at 615-446-7571.