When Donegal police Chief Ethan Ward went to work Friday, he got paid for the first time since Thanksgiving.

	Robert J. Pavuchak, Post-Gazette Donegal police Chief Ethan Ward, unpaid since Thanksgiving, says he made do for 10 weeks with simple country living, the sale of two beef cattle he had raised and stock dividends he'd saved. Click photo for larger image.

Ward, who also is chief for two other rural municipalities in western Washington County, long has had a reputation for watching taxpayer dollars as carefully as homicide suspects. But when the Sept. 17 flooding severely damaged Donegal's roads and broke the township's budget, Ward took his penny-pinching to a level that shocked even some closest to him.

He said he'd work without pay until federal and state officials reimbursed the township for $90,000 it spent on emergency road repairs. "Well, we were amazed," township Secretary-Treasurer Bess Hildreth said.

The first $66,558 of the reimbursement arrived Jan. 26, so Hildreth cut Ward a check last week for $5,460 in back pay. The check was waiting when Ward arrived at the township building Friday, but he's in no hurry to cash it.

"I have a very enjoyable life, but I don't have a lot of overhead," said Ward, 33, who makes $13.65 an hour. He said he made do for 10 weeks, or five pay periods, with simple country living, the sale of two beef cattle he had raised and stock dividends he'd saved.

Ward is unmarried, his 156-acre farm is mortgage-free, his pickup truck is paid off. He heats his home with wood from the farm, has a freezer full of homegrown beef and uses water from a spring, reflecting the self-sufficiency and thrift highly regarded in his neck of the woods.

He and two other officers patrol 54 miles of roads, about half of them paved, in Donegal, Claysville and West Alexander, joint population 3,500, according to the 2000 census. The boroughs pay Donegal $1,870 and $650 a month, respectively, for police service, Hildreth said.

People who live in Ward's bailiwick on the West Virginia border, little developed because of the lack of public water and sewerage, like quiet living and minimal government intrusion.

Not wanting to "take from the people any more than they had to," Donegal supervisors kept taxes at 6 mills for years before the road damage forced a 3-mill increase this year, Hildreth said.

A mill generates $11,500. The township's operating budget is $373,249, including $82,000 for the police department.

Ward, one of two full-time officers, has saved money over the years by buying used police cars at federal auction and outfitting them with equipment he snagged on eBay, the Internet auction site. He's also purchased VASCAR units, portable radios and laptop computers online.

He arranged free Internet service through the National Center for Rural Law Enforcement. He lands an average of $30,000 in grants each year and has used the money to pay for salaries, bulletproof vests and training. He obtained a free desktop computer from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

When attending federal training programs, Ward could book a hotel room at the prevailing government rate. But he scans the Internet for specials, often saving dozens of dollars a night.

	Robert J. Pavuchak, Post-Gazette Ethan Ward handfeeds cracked corn to his black and red Angus cows in the back field on his 156-acre farm in Donegal. Click photo for larger image.

Ward and two other Donegal employees opted out of the township's health-insurance plan and found less expensive coverage on their own. The township reimburses them for the premiums.

During 10 weeks of working without pay, Ward paid his insurance premiums without reimbursement. Hildreth cut him one check last week for back pay and a second, for $636, to catch up on insurance.

"I think we owe him a debt of gratitude for what he has done," Hildreth said. "But we felt that way all along for all the things he's always done."

With a bare-bones budget, Donegal was unprepared for the road damage caused by Hurricane Ivan-related flooding in September.

Using their own backhoes, for free, Ward and Donegal Supervisor Henry "Bus" McAdoo helped the four-man road department clear debris and repair roads. The township still spent $90,000 on materials, road department equipment and overtime for the road crew.

The year's real estate taxes, liquid fuels money and earned income taxes spent, the township blew through $40,000 in savings and reached a crisis. The supervisors laid off two road workers. Ward, fearing furloughs in the Police Department, offered an alternative.

Ward said he didn't want the department's other full-time officer, Sgt. Max Oravetz, a father of three, to be out of work with a mortgage to pay and Christmas on the way. But that was just one concern.

Ward said laying off an officer would mean "laying off a shift," forcing people to rely on state police for protection. Also, he said, reducing police service would allow Claysville and West Alexander to cut monthly payments to Donegal at a time the township desperately needed cash.

Ward insisted that working without pay was no big deal, saying a paycheck isn't the reason people get into public service.

"Inherently, you have to want to help people," he said. "That's where you get your satisfaction."

McAdoo said Ward went above and beyond the call of duty in more ways than one. After the flooding, Ward acted as township manager, photographing the damage and completing reports for the state and federal emergency management agencies.

"He's a life-saver for us," McAdoo said.

More rain since September has compounded the damage to township roads. Ward counted about 20 "slips," where sections of road had fallen in or skidded over a hillside.

He estimated it will take $600,000 to repair the damage, more if the township awards the work to contractors instead of shopping for supplies and doing much of the work itself. Ward said he didn't expect federal or state help with the repairs because it wasn't possible to link the slips directly to Ivan.

The township dedicated the 3-mill real estate tax increase to road repairs and enacted a $52 emergency and municipal services tax, formerly called the occupational privilege tax, on people working in the township. The new tax also is dedicated to road repairs.

Ward has passed up opportunities to earn more money at larger police departments. He's content with his job, his farm overlooking the scenic countryside and the riches money can't buy.

"Did Bess tell you we're going to send him a letter of thanks?" McAdoo asked.