By David Grant Long

A man once deemed an inch too short to fulfill his dream of becoming a firefighter in his hometown was honored recently by the same fire department that had rejected him.

Cortez City Manager Hal Shepherd — until last year the city manager of Hamilton, Ohio — returned to his old stomping grounds over the holidays to attend the grand opening ceremony for the Hal Shepherd Hamilton Fire Department Headquarters, a 25,000-square-foot facility that will be home to 30 firefighters as well as a training facility and administration center for the city of 60,000.

"I couldn’t think of anyone more appropriate to have the Hamilton fire department headquarters named after than Hal," said Fire Chief Lyle Moore during its dedication Dec. 30, according to an article in the Journal News. Moore praised Shepherd’s advocacy for the department’s needs during his 10 years as city manager, which resulted in the new $2.4 million facility.

Hamilton Mayor Tom Nye concurred, calling the dedication "a nice legacy for Hal Shepherd and all the service he gave us over the years —Hal did have a commitment to the city and the fire division." Shepherd worked for the city for 27 years before retiring in May and assuming his new duties here.

Shepherd’s boyhood ambition had been to follow the same career path as his father, a lieutenant with the Hamilton fire department who served for 30 years. When he finally took the test while in college, however, Shepherd was informed that he didn’t quite measure up to the height requirement in place at that time.

John Shirey, a friend and city manager of nearby Cincinnati, called Shepherd "a great public servant," according to the Journal News.

"It’s so unusual for a public facility to be named after a city manager, I wanted to be here to see it," Shirey joked. "It might be a one-time event."