RIDGECREST — Come January, there will be a new chief in town.

That’s when Ridgecrest resident Dale Cowan will take over as the new chief of police.

Cowan faced one opponent in the October election for the position, John Smith, but Smith’s name was removed from the ballot last week because of questions about his residency.

That means Cowan will be elected without opposition.

The new chief said he will be a full-time police chief, inasmuch as Ridgecrest needs a full-time chief.

“This is a small community,” he said.

“Loud music is still a problem, and speeders, not that we want to get into a big ticket writing thing.”

Cowan also said he would like to do more patrols to keep burglaries down.

In addition to the police chief, Ridgecrest employs one part-time officer.

Cowan has 22 years law enforcement experience, and has worked for Metro Narcotics in Adams County and as a Ferriday police officer.

He is retired from the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office, where he served as a line deputy, an investigator and ran the narcotics task force at different points in his career.

Running for police chief seemed like an obvious thing to do.

“I recently retired from the CPSO, and I live in Ridgecrest, and I thought it was a good chance to help the community and give me something to do, too,” Cowan said.

“We want to keep things the status quo — a good, quiet place to live.”