As students walk through the halls of Lakeland High School, everyone is trying their hardest to make it to class on time. Officer Hatcher stands outside his office by the hawk statue and greets students as they walk past him. Or, at the beginning of school, he can be found saying good morning by the entrance.
Hatcher is loved by many, and in the recent elections on Nov. 7, he has been elected to the Rathdrum City Council Board, on seat number four, for which he will serve for the next four years.
There are four seats, and then there is the mayor. There will always be an odd number of people. This is for voting purposes, and it is so in need of a tiebreaker, the mayor can make the final decision.
Hatcher has always had an interest in politics. Even without knowing a lot about politics, he has always enjoyed hearing from people. He has been the head chairman of the planning and zoning committee for three years.
His job as the head chairman is to be a mediator and communicate to meet ends meet if a developer wants to go and rezone a chunk of land and put it in houses or a store.
“It’s fun to listen to people, and then mediate that…Help everybody get along and work together to make things happen,” Hatcher said.
His goal is to let people know that they have a voice, whether it is with the residential developments going on as the growth of Rathdrum keeps increasing. He wants people to start speaking up if they have any issues with what is going on.
“There are a lot of people who just complain about the residential developments that are going on around here, and I’m not the type to complain about it,” Hatcher said. “Why sit there and complain on Facebook and be a keyboard warrior? Get out and do something about it, run for a city council spot, be somewhere that can make a difference about it.”
Another issue that he wants to help with is the city budget and the Rathdrum Police Department.
The district originally hired Hatcher to be the “security guy” at Lakeland High School as the official school resource officer, along with Officer Hudson.
Hatcher has been a level one reserve police officer for the past 14 years, which has given him the experience to help keep the school safe and also to know what the city of Rathdrum needs.
“I still work for the city as a reserve officer in that capacity,” Hatcher said.
This recent election just adds another piece of pie to Hatcher’s plate. On top of being a council member, he is the school’s armed guard and the head of the booster club, as well as a father and husband. It can be tough having to balance so much.
“So the reserve part keeps me busy, this part keeps me busy, the city meets a couple of times a month at the most, but there is a lot of planning that goes into it, a lot of emails, there’s a lot of things to study, like the city budget,” Hatcher said
With so much going on in his life, he still can find time to spend with his family and, more importantly, go to his daughter’s basketball games.
“I’m also the president of the booster club,” Hatcher said. “My wife and I run a concession here at the school that takes a lot of time. And then, first and foremost, my daughter goes here, plays basketball, and everything stops when she’s playing.”
Officer Hatcher is excited about his opportunity to help improve Rathdrum, whether it be with the population or roads. He plans to do something about it and encourages everyone to make their voice heard if they have a problem and to attend the monthly board meetings.