DOVER-FOXCROFT – A retired New Hampshire police chief and military veteran was hired Tuesday as the new Piscataquis County emergency management director.

Thomas F. Iverson Jr., 57, of Sebec also will serve as director of the local emergency preparedness committee and as the county’s E-911 agent. His salary for these positions will be approximately $13,000 for 2005. He will begin Monday, Jan. 3.

Iverson, one of two people who applied for the position, has an extensive law enforcement background that covers 36 years and includes mock disaster training and grant work.

“We were very impressed by his background and qualifications, but just as important as the paper qualifications is the enthusiasm that he will bring to the position,” Commissioner Tom Lizotte said Tuesday after a commissioners meeting.

Among his accomplishments, Iverson served as police chief in Litchfield, N.H., where he reorganized the department, updated standard operating procedures and ordinances, and assisted the EMA director in the planning and implementation of mock disaster training. He also served in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army.

Iverson, who attended the meeting, said he was pleased to give back to the community.

“I’m looking at it more as a challenge,” he said Tuesday. “I’m looking forward to working with the county and the towns.”

He already serves as Sebec’s emergency management director.

Iverson’s first contract with emergency management was in 1974 when he served as civil defense director in a small New Hampshire community. Since then, he has participated in many related activities, he said.

“There’s a lot to be done, but it can’t be done overnight,” Iverson said.