ABOVE: Danville Police Chief Christopher Yates (left), Danville Fire Chief Aaron Marcott (right).
A couple of Danville Police and Fire Department matters were approved during Tuesday (April 2nd) night’s Danville City Council meeting. On the Police side, approval was given to a new Friendly Town Preservation Fund, as Chief Christopher Yates continues to oversee improvements to the educational Friendly Town in Lincoln Park. The big May 4th and 5th kickoff weekend is just around the corner, and Chief Yates is glad to see a fund established solely for Friendly Town’s upkeep.
AUDIO: What we’re wanting to do is make sure that all money that comes in in donations and sponsorships for the improvements out of Friendly Town that’s done to like the landscaping and individual buildings within the town, that’s not being covered under the other work that we’re doing, that it goes exactly to that. And it rolls over every year, and continues like a regular account.
(1st Picture) Danville City Council assembles for Tuesday night meeting. (2nd Picture) Work on Friendly Town in Lincoln Park continues, heading towards May 4th and 5th kickoff. (3rd Picture) Soon to be closing Walgreens on SW corner of Bowman and Main.
On the fire side, as we reported last week, Fire Chief Aaron Marcott wanted to apply for the $1.85 million SAFER grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It’s a three year personnel grant that Danville last received in 2018. And as Chief Marcott once again explained afterwards, this is meant to keep Danville’s response levels exactly where they should be; be it with some retirements coming, or if any firefighters are sidelined for a while; as well as decreasing the need for overtime.
AUDIO: It give us certainly a lot more leeway when people come and go and leave. Or when somebody gets injured, or any other types of leave that the firefighters would have. So having personnel about that normal number helps reduce the overtime as a result of that.
The application will be taken care of as soon as possible, and Chief Marcott hopes FEMA has an answer by August.
Finally, Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr says the recently announced future closing of the Walgreen’s Pharmacy on the southwest corner of Bowman and Main hits him as the mayor, but as a Danville resident as well.
AUDIO: Growing up, that was our family pharmacy. And just to see the changes over the years; they had some key personnel retire over the last couple of years, and unfortunately it just hasn’t been the same. So, I’m not surprised; of course I am disappointed.
Mayor Williams says he’s certainly hoping that in the future something great can be put either into the current building, or on that site at Main and Bowman.
