STRONG — Scott Dyar has served this town in many ways over the years: fire chief, school board director, firefighter and Planning Board member, to name a few.

On Monday, Dyar will say goodbye to his hometown to pursue a new career 1,900 miles away in Longview, Texas, in the northeast corner of that state.

Dyar, 47, has been the fire chief for five years and a firefighter for 17 years.

He grew up in Strong.

The change was something he and Patty, his wife of 25 years, had planned to do. When the opportunity arose, he took it.

"It was the right offer at the right time," he said.

Dyar has worked in maintenance at Verso Paper, formerly International Paper, in Jay for for 22 years. He'll be doing similar work with a new company.

His wife is happy about the move. The couple has four children, three of them living in Maine, and four grandchildren.

A new fire chief will be elected in March at the annual town meeting. In the meantime, Fire Department officers will take on the duties.

During his time in the department, Dyar helped bring $470,000 in grant money to the town, including enough to buy a new firetruck.

"I'm just going to miss everybody I work with and all the organizations I've been involved in," Dyar said. "I really enjoyed it."

dperry@sunjournal.com