Police-Fire open house draws crowd to Norris on Saturday
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Visitors move through the chow line in the Norris Lions Club Pavilion during the third-annual Norris Police and Fire depatment open House event on Saturday (Oct. 5), sponsored by the nonprofit group Citizens in Support of Norris Police and Fire. - G. Chambers Williams III
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Norris Chief of Police Mike Poole prepares to greet visitors to the Norris Public Safety Building during last Saturday’s third-annual Norris Police and Fire Open House event. Since last year’s event, the building has been given an entirely new roof. - G. Chambers Williams III
Several hundred people turned out Saturday for free food and fellowship with their first-responders during the third-annual Norris Police and Fire Appreciation Day event, held at the city’s Public Safety Building and in the nearby Lions Club Pavilion.
Free food, including hot dogs, pulled pork, baked beans, coleslaw and desserts, were served to the visitors in the pavilion by volunteers with the nonprofit group Citizens in Support of Norris Police and Fire, which sponsored the event.
There was also a silent auction in the pavilion to help raise money for police and fire equipment.
“We’re a small town, and there are some things that the police and fire departments need that aren’t covered by the city budget,” said Roy Langheld, the group’s president.
“We hold these events to help raise money for those extra items, such as flashlights and cameras for the police, and electronic flares for use at accident scenes,” he said.
“For the Fire Department, we have bought fire gloves to replace the welding gloves they were using, and cutters to open up wrecked vehicles to extract their occupants.
“The flashlights for the police were $105 apiece, and the fire gloves cost $90 a pair,” he added.
At the Public Safety Building, police officers and volunteer firefighters were on hand to give tours of the facility and show off fire and police vehicles to visitors.
Police and fire departments are both housed in the building.