Cedar Bluff Police Joining Fire Department and Liberty Day Set
The Cedar Bluff Town Council met in regular session Monday evening approving the 2024 Liberty Day budget and setting the date. The Council adopted a $31,500 tentative budget for the event and set the date of June 29th as Liberty Day in Cedar Bluff. The Mayor and Council said the fireworks will be $20,000 and they have $7,700 on hand in grant money for fireworks but said they need $12,300 more to cover the cost of a 15 minute show. Mayor Crane said the Town will be asking for donations from businesses and other entities in the County to help with the ever increasing costs of the pyrotechnics.
Police Chief Jeremy Stepps informed the Council his officers were wanting to join the Cedar Bluff Fire Department in order to assist with the truck when the department was dispatched to a fire or auto accident. Chief Stepps said the officers would be receive fire fighter training in order to be on the force. They could be available in some cases to immediately be available to get the trucks to a scene of need with the other members of the department responding directly to the scene. He said this could cut valuable response time considerably. The Fire Department’s Insurance on the trucks would not cover the officers unless they are members of the department.
The Council approved for bids to be accepted for electrical upgrades to the Town’s infrastructure in the Park. They also approved to accept bids on installation of a new sign for the Town. Both bids will be opened at a special called meeting set for April 24th. Bids will be accepted until 4PM on the 24th at Town Hall.
In the Cedar Bluff Police Report for the month of March, there were 12 felony arrests, 19 misdemeanor arrests, with 9 warrants served, issued 59 incident and offense reports, issued 27 traffic citations with 127 warnings, patrolled 9215 miles and inspected the Town’s Businesses 6640 times on night shift.
In the fire department report for the month, the department responded to 7 medical assist calls, 5 false alarms, 6 grass fires, 1 structure fire, 2 auto accidents for a total of 21 calls.
The building inspector report indicated there were 7 building permits issued, with 2 sewer tap permits, and 20 camper permits issued for the month.