CLAYTON &045; Clayton chief of police candidate Willie &uot;Bill&uot; Evans filed a lawsuit Friday contesting the candidacy of incumbent Chief of Police Clarence &uot;PaPa&uot; Skipper.

Evans said he is &uot;challenging him on basis of state qualification requirements.&uot; Namely, the qualification that a candidate must have lived in the corporate limits of the town he is running for chief of police in for one year prior to qualifying.

Evans said he has gathered information that Skipper does not live in the corporate limits of Clayton but would not say what information he had. Evans said it will be left for the courts to decide although he said he did not know what day the case would go to court. Evans said, by law, the case has to be heard within four days of filing a lawsuit contesting candidacy.

He said this is not about anything personal and it is not about animosity. &uot;This has nothing to do with any kind of personal vendettas. I am just going along with what the law states,&uot; Evans said. &uot;If the shoe was on the other foot, I feel he should file the same kind of charges.

&uot;I respect him highly but he signed up for it Š and I saw the discrepancy, so I challenged him.&uot;

Skipper could not be reached for comment before press time.