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New Police Department Opens In Van Buren

VAN BUREN (KFSM) – Officers with Van Buren Police are finally moving into their new department Thursday (Mar.19). Chief Kenneth Bell said the new departme...

VAN BUREN (KFSM) - Officers with Van Buren Police are finally moving into their new department Thursday (Mar.19). Chief Kenneth Bell said the new department will give officers the space they need to do their jobs better.

They'll have more office space, more holding cells, an evidence room, and a 21st century dispatch center.

The building has been a year in the making, after construction started at the new location on Fayetteville Road. "We're in a more central location for the citizens to come here," said Bell.

"I think anyone who has seen the present facility to see where we have been and where we're going would be excited," said Van Buren Mayor Bob Freeman.

The new building will allow the department to house all it's services in one central location. "We won't be cramped," said Bell. "We can actually pass each other in the hallway without turning sideways."

Voters approved a sales tax in 2012 to fund the building. After years of planning, the city is giving the community what they asked for. "We didn't build the building just for today," said Freeman. "We built it for the future and it will last here in Van Buren for many years."

The ribbon - cutting ceremony will be at 5:00 p.m. Thursday (Mar.19). It will be followed by an open house from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. The community is welcome to come out.

Officers said they're wokring to move all of their stuff to the new deparment now. They hope to be settled in sometime in the next few weeks.

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