WEST PARIS – In a small step toward regionalization, the towns of Greenwood, Hebron, West Paris and Paris hired Hartley “Skip” Mowat as a shared Emergency Management Agency director, beginning immediately.

West Paris Selectman Chairman Dennis Henderson said Mowat met EMA committee requirements since he had experience as this town’s EMA director in the past and is familiar with the three other towns. He also is a member of the Paris Police Department.

Henderson said, “Skip did a tremendous job during the ice storm of ’98 when he was our EMA director here in West Paris. He kept busy traveling around the town and checking on people, especially the elderly, to make sure they had what they needed. Those of us on the selection committee from the four towns liked his record and the fact he knows this whole area. So we felt he was the right man for the job.”

Henderson added that Mowat will be given space for an office either at the Paris Police Department or the Paris Fire Department, and will work on emergency plans for the four towns to present to selectmen immediately.

The job pays $4,000 per year, divided among the towns by population.

The EMA director plans and executes emergency responses whenever a natural or man-made disaster happens.

The town of Woodstock had been invited to join the effort but decided against it.