By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

WAKEENEY – A former Trego County rural fire chief has been charged with stealing from the county.

In court papers filed Jan. 10 in Trego County Court, Larry James Eberle was charged with filing a false voucher for $539 in December 2015.

Eberle has been charged with making false information, which is a felony, and theft by deception, which is a misdemeanor.

He retired from the fire service in January 2017.

According to a story that appeared in the Western Kansas World, Eberle was a member of the fire service for 30 years, joining Trego Rural Fire in 1986.

Eberle was chosen as the 2014 Fire Chief of the Year at the Kansas State Fire Chiefs’ Association meeting.