By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Alabaster Police Chief Stanley Oliver will be retiring on Oct. 1 after more than 40 years in law enforcement.

Oliver announced his retirement last week, and will be out of the office using accrued vacation days until his retirement begins in a few months, Alabaster Mayor David Frings said.

Deputy Police Chief Curtis Rigney will fill Oliver’s duties until a new full-time police chief is hired, Frings said.

“I can’t name Curtis the interim chief right now because Stanley hasn’t officially retired yet,” Frings said. “If October 1 gets here and we haven’t hired a new chief, I will be able to appoint Curtis as the interim chief.”

Over the next couple of weeks, Alabaster officials will be accepting applications for the chief position. After collecting the applications, Alabaster Personnel Director Clark Boyd will select the top five applicants and submit them to Frings to hire the new chief.

Anyone interested in applying for the position can do so by visiting Cityofalabaster.com and clicking on the “Human Resources” link on the “Departments” tab.

Frings said Oliver is looking forward to spending time with his grandchildren, fishing and tackling a hefty “honey-do list.”

“I hope he has a great retirement,” Frings said, noting the city is working to organize a farewell party closer to Oliver’s retirement date.

Though Oliver had been out of the office for only a few days on Aug. 20, Frings said he “missed him already.”

For almost 12 years, Stanley was one of the first phone or radio calls I made every day. For at least five days a week, it was like a habit,” Frings said. “The police department is so important to a community, so I liked to talk with him almost every day just to be aware of what was happening.”

“Curtis is doing a great job. We will have to make the adjustment and move forward,” Frings said.