Eldridge fired police chief Bill Welty

Sept. 30, 1982: After an all-day public meeting at the basement of Eldridge Coop, the Eldridge City Council voted 4-0 against allowing fired police chief Bill Welty to serve as a sergeant on the force. Carol Goetzke abstained, as she served on the public safety committee. Meanwhile, Eldridge would continue without a police chief until the deadline had passed for Welty to appeal his termination. Sgt. Dale Heiser would take over the day-to-day duties of running the department in the interim.