TVA donates cruiser to Norris Police
TVA Police Inspector Steve Ward, second from right, hands over the keys to a 2018 Dodge Durango police cruiser to Norris Police Chief Michael Poole on Wednesday, April 22, in front of the Norris police and fire building. Looking on next to Poole is Norris City Manager Bailey Whited. TVA donated the retired cruiser to the city of Norris for use by its Police Department. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
TVA officials turned the keys to the Durango to Norris Police Chief Michael Poole during a ceremony in front of the city’s fire/police building. It still has to be given Norris Police markings and equipped with a two-way radio and other equipment before it is placed in service, Norris officials said.
The vehicle had recently been retired from the TVA Police fleet, and rather than sell it at auction, TVA decided to give it to Norris, which provides 24-hour patrol and emergency services to the Norris Dam area – most of which is within the city limits.
TVA Police Investigator Steven Ward, who is based in the Norris area, turned over the keys as several TVA and city of Norris officials looked on.
The agency said Poole had expressed to Ward the department’s need for a reliable vehicle to replace one of its aging Ford Crown Victoria police sedans.
Poole thanked Lonnie Scott with TVA Fleet Services for making the process of transferring ownership of the Durango “smooth and seamless.”
Also on hand for the presentation was Roy Langheld, who represented the group called Citizens in Support of Norris Police and Fire.
“We have a small tax base here in the city, so this is a really wonderful thing for the Police Department to get a vehicle that is in this good of condition with this low of mileage,” Langheld said.
He added that the Durango “is a vehicle that can go up into the Norris Watershed and areas with trails because it’s an all-wheel drive. And they can load it up with a lot of the equipment that they need when they respond to calls up in those areas.”
Also attending the vehicle-handoff event were Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, Norris City Manager Bailey Whited, Cindy Boshears from the office of U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann and members of the Citizens in Support of Norris Police and Fire.
“TVA and TVAP truly value the strong working partnership we share with the Norris Police Department,” TVA Government and Community Relations Manager Shannon Cook said.
“(TVAP Captain) Chris Wells and I were just talking about how seamlessly the two departments collaborate and how much that cooperation contributes to the safety of not only the city of Norris, but the entire Norris Dam Reservation. Supporting that relationship is important to us, and this vehicle donation is one way we can help strengthen it even further.”
“We really appreciate TVA,” said Langheld, himself a retired police officer. “Norris was a TVA town when it was founded in the 1930s, and the TVA influence remains today. There’s been a connection here for almost 100 years.”
