I trust everyone had a great Christmas and holiday season!  Because of the citizens of Crandall, over 50 families and 150 kids had a brighter Christmas because of the Silent Star program.  Once again, the citizens of Crandall showed their generosity by selecting Stars from the wall at City Hall and then going out and purchasing the gifts and returning them.  The Crandall Fire and Police Departments joined forces to “Fill the Boot” to raise money to purchase gifts for the Stars that were not chosen.

   One of our own has made it back safely from Iraq!  Firefighter Che Williams returned just in time for Christmas after 2 years in Iraq.  Che was an MP and in addition to his patrol duties, he helped train Iraqi Law Enforcement Officers.  Welcome back Che and heartfelt thanks from all of us here!  Thank you for putting your life on the line so that we may enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy everyday here in America!  You are a true Hero!

   We have had some recent “hands-on” training that has proved invaluable to our department.  No one likes to think of school bus accidents, but the CVFD hosted a countywide training, utilizing 2 donated school busses.  There was a 4-hour classroom instruction about bus accidents and extrication, and then we went outside and practiced all afternoon, cutting open school busses and removing ‘victims’.  We used our Jaws of Life rescue tools, saws, and other hand tools during this exercise.  Several weeks later, we actually used one of the busses for a live vehicle fire training!  Many of these firefighters gave up a few Saturdays for this training---just another example of their dedication!

   As we head forward into 2010, we continue to ask for your prayers for our safety!  This group of dedicated men and women VOLUNTEER everyday to protect you, your property and our city.  It takes a special group of people to do this, and you will not find a more dedicated, hard working group of individuals such as these!  I am proud to serve with such an outstanding group!