Barbecue, community fuel appreciation day
Crowd of 200-plus turns out in support of Norris police and fire
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Juanita Bailey of Norris gets some food during last Saturday’s Norris Police and Fire Appreciation Day picnic in the Lions Club Pavilion in front of Norris Middle School. Helping to serve the food are volunteers Teri Langheld, right, and Kathy Myers. - G. Chambers Williams III
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Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. William Grieve prepares to place the annual memorial wreath, prepared and donated by Janet Donaldson of Keep Norris Beautiful, on the Veterans Memorial in Norris during the 2023 Memorial Day ceremony.. Grieve, who also serves on the Norris City Council, was on hand Monday to perform the same task for this year’s ceremony in front of the post office. - G. Chambers Williams III
The lure of pulled-pork barbecue, grilled hot dogs and other Southern comfort foods drew more than 200 people to the Norris Lions Club Pavilion on Saturday for the fifth-annual Norris Police and Fire Appreciation Day picnic and fundraiser in downtown Norris.
“We had excellent attendance and a lot of camaraderie,” said Roy Langheld, who coordinated the event as president of its sponsor, Citizens in Support of Norris Police and Fire.
“We served almost 100 hot dogs, 140-plus meals of smoked pulled pork, barbecued beans, coleslaw, chili, dessert, and condiments,” he said.
“The Fire Department had a fire truck at the event and the police had a squad car,” Langheld said. “Community youth enjoyed looking at the equipment, but particularly liked the shiny fire truck.”
The group, founded in 2019 by now-City Councilman Will Grinder, holds events to raise money for equipment to help the police officers and volunteer firefighters who serve as Norris’ first responders.
“Our efforts are focused on serving the needs of Norris residents,” Langheld said. “We want to make our police and fire departments more efficient and effective in their service to the community.
“We are focused on serving as a communications link between our first responders and the people they serve,” he said. “We stress community meetings, youth driving education, and neighborhood meetings.
Langheld said that because Norris is such a small community with a limited tax base, the organization wants to help address equipment and facility needs.
“Our most recent effort was to upgrade the sights and lighting on the [police] officers’ service weapons,” he said. “This resulted in the need for new holsters and additional practice rounds to familiarize the officers with their new equipment. Our organization furnished approximately $4,100 to accomplish this goal.”
Volunteers served the food in the pavilion in front of Norris Middle School for the event, which ran from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
