Tensfeld accepts EM post

Bill Tensfeld of Rosalia is Whitman County’s new Emergency Management Director. He will begin his new position May 31.

“I’m pretty excited,” Tensfeld said Tuesday. “It’s just a change, a change to a job I have a desire to do.”

Tensfeld replaces Fran Martin who is retiring next month. His monthly salary is $4,392. The county commissioners offered Tensfeld the position on May 6.

Tensfeld is Rosalia Fire Chief and ran for county commissioner last year, but was defeated by Art Swannack.

He has been a traffic systems safety operator for the state Department of Transportation Management Center. He also served more than 25 years as a firefighter and EMT, and more than a dozen years as chief.

Tensfeld has a degree in emergency management from Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood.

“I have a lot of good ideas to offer the county,” he said. “There’s lots of room to grow. I just want to make sure the county is prepared to handle any crisis that comes along and be as prepared as we can be.”