As Mayor Menino searches for the best person to fill the job as Commissioner of the Boston Police Department, he should look to Dorchester.

Word this week is that Bob Dunford, the longtime commander at Area C-11 who now serves as a superintendent, is among a small group of finalists being considered for the job, which has been vacant since Paul Evans left for England last fall. The department has been managed on an interim basis by acting Commissioner Jim Hussey, who is also said to be a finalist. Both men are outstanding police officers, but Bob Dunford should be the clear favorite to assume the command post.

There are any number of reasons for choosing Dunford. As a young officer, he headed the Police Academy, where he trained many of the officers now working the streets of Boston. He pioneered the implementation of "community policing" in Boston, designing and carrying out a program that's a national model of how police departments and community residents can work together. For years, he has headed BPD's crisis intervention team, and has been the lead negotiator in numerous hostage events throughout the city.

Bob Dunford also has the respect and admiration of the many diverse community groups and cultures he has interacted with over his career. In Dorchester, where diversity is a way of life, Dunford has raised the department's reputation to a high level. He has routinely worked with persons from many differing cultures - Vietnamese and other Asians, Cape Verdean, Caribbean, Afro-American, as well as the traditional white ethnics who comprise our town - and has gained almost universal respect and admiration. He is a cop's cop, and he is also a community's cop.

Last weekend's unhappy events of isolated violence after the big Super Bowl victory underscore the urgent need to fill the commissioner's post on a permanent basis. Bob Dunford clearly can fill the post, and do it well.

There were signs this week that a final decision may be coming soon.

Local Dorchester people who have known Dunford and believe he would be an excellent police commissioner would do well to make known their support. A letter to the Mayor would be well-timed this week.

Boston Police Commissioner Bob Dunford - this city could not do any better! -Ed Forry

True Heroes

The city is radiant this week, celebrating the Patriots Superbowl win. The athletes on this hometown team put it all together and brought great entertainment to the entire region.

In the current day of extreme excesses in sport salaries, it's instructive to remember that the season started off on a low note, when the Patriots cut a star player whose paychecks far exceeded his value to the team. The loss of Lawyer Milloy and his $35 million contract was cause of great concern at the time. But the remaining players regrouped, overcame early adversity, and did their business like professionals.

In our exultation, there's a temptation to think of these football players as modern-day heroes. But heroes they are not. The real heroes are far more ordinary people, like the men and women toiling in the military in places like Kabul and Baghdad; and people like Josh Powell, the Dot man and ADSL coach who works relentlessly as coach of amateur young athletes in the local ADSL; and priests, nuns and ministers who every day find ways to help others with great grace and dignity.

The Patriots are a wonderful success story, and the team has brought us all great fun and excitement. But the echoes of the weekend glories are already past memories. Let us praise the people who, with little notice, accomplish heroic deeds everyday.

-E.F.