ODESSA - At town council's Sept. 11 meeting, Mayor Bill Crossley administered the oath of office to new police chief: 43-year-old Ericka Rose. In accepting the job of chief, she fulfills a lifelong dream of leading her own department.

She has known since childhood that she wanted to become a police officer and focused on that goal throughout high school and college and on into the early years of married life. Her husband, Brandon Rose, also in law enforcement, works as a deputy for the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.

The couple resides in Lincoln County and has one adult daughter Nonica,...