Southbridge voters will decide on a request for $25.7 million to pay for the construction of a new fire station, reports Telegram & Gazette.

If approved, the debt exclusion will replace an existing 122-year-old fire station and would increase property taxes by an estimated 6% to 8% to pay the debt service for the design, site acquisition and construction.

The sign for the Dennis A. Thatcher Public Safety Complex was unveiled, reports Daily Hampshire Gazette.

More than 100 people attended the dedication ceremony, which featured the unveiling of both a sign and a plaque to honor the town’s late fire chief who died of cancer in 2019. He was instrumental in getting the funding for the construction of the complex, which first opened in 2008.

The Camden County (GA) Board of Commissioners approved for Camden County Fire Rescue (CCFR) the purchase of two Custom AEV Type 1 Units, which are the third and fourth installments of the five total new ambulances that are included in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) VIII.

These new vehicles are part of the nearly $3.1 million in new buildings, equipment, and apparatus put into service over the last four years. Since 2017, CCFR has added one new tanker truck, three new engines, one new firehouse, two ambulances, and nearly $500,000 in equipment and tools. These two new ambulances are expected to be put into service in January 2022 and total more than $526,808.

Two ambulances recently joined the fleet in spring 2021 as replacements for existing Life Squad 11 and Life Squad 17. Camden County voters approved SPLOST VIII in March 2019; this one-cent sales tax is paid by all residents and visitors that purchase goods in Camden County. SPLOST VIII began collection in July 2019 and concludes in June 2025.

“These new ambulances are paid through SPLOST pennies by the citizens and visitors of Camden County and will help us better serve them,” said Camden County Fire Rescue Chief Terry Smith. “We thank the Board of Commissioners for their continued support of Camden County Fire Rescue.”

Three officers shot in Wilmington

Chris O’Connell, FOX 29 Staff, with permission

WILMINGTON, Delaware (FOX 29) – One of the officers injured during a shooting turned hours-long standoff in Wilmington has been released from the hospital, a law enforcement source tells FOX 29’s, Steve Keeley.

The two other injured officers are in stable condition but will undergo surgery, according to Keeley’s source.

Authorities swarmed an apartment building on the 2400 block of North Market Street around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday after three officers were shot during a “call to service,” authorities said.

FOX 29 learned that police believed the shooter was barricaded inside the building. A large spotlight was focused on a third-floor apartment near the backside of the building overnight.

Residents located between 23rd Street and 27th Street from West Street to Carter Street were asked to shelter in place for nearly 10 hours while police secured the area. The Wilmington Police Department lifted the shelter in place just before 11 a.m.

SWAT officers on Thursday morning used a ladder truck from the Wilmington Fire Department to enter the apartment and remove three people, including a small child.

Police have not provided a formal update about the investigation since 1:30 a.m.

In a Thursday morning statement Delaware Senator Chris Coons, who co-chairs the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, said he is praying for the injured officers.

“I am praying for the wounded officers of the Wilmington Police Department and thankful that they are in stable condition, on the path toward a speedy recovery,” Coons said. “I’m grateful for their service and thinking about the first responders and the residents of Wilmington impacted by this tragic incident.”

Delaware Gov. John Carney also tweeted his hope for the speedy recovery of the wounded officers.