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Vehicle replaces squad car totaled in high-speed pursuit

The Linden City Council approved the police department purchasing a new Dodge Charger to replace the police vehicle that was totaled in a one-car accident resulting from a pursuit for approximately $22,300 and six new laptops for just under $2,600.

Chief Robert Alston said that while they’d still need to pay for additional police vehicle equipment, some were salvaged from the other vehicle.

“We’re going to use some parts from the other car that we were able to recycle, but we’re still going to have to do other stuff like partitions,” he said.

The majority of the funds for the new vehicle will come from an insurance check of “a little over $16,000,” Alston said.

He also said the new laptops were needed because the current ones are “getting to be outdated and we’re starting to have some problems with them.” He chose 14-inch HPs with 8 GB memory and 1 TB hard drive for $429 each.

Other items discussed at the meeting include:

• addressing a request from St. Albans Masonic Lodge to place a 10-by-10 utility building on city property behind the lodge in order to store chairs for their meetings. With it being a portable building and the city retaining the right to give notice for removal at any time, the request was approved.

• Bruce Ward, secretary to the city council, informed the group that the city’s auditors would like to meet with the city council and the utility board at 5 p.m. on Feb. 19

• Cannon inquired of the status of the residential property that was damaged following the ChiLLy Fest fireworks display after some of the fireworks fell into a residential yard and onto the roof of a camper, resulting in the roof getting burned. City Attorney Wooding Dinning Jr. informed Cannon that the insurance agency representing the fireworks company Mr. Butts has contacted the resident to address the situation.

The Linden City Council meets every first and third Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. at city hall.

(This article originally appeared in the Wednesday, January 23 issue of the Demopolis Times.)