The Town of Batesburg-Leesville Police Department is excited to announce it was recently awarded the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant to equip the department with 15 new bullet poof vests. Bulletproof vests are critical to law enforcement officers as they are faced with dangerous situations every day. Not only will they be used to prevent injuries, but also to save lives.

Since 1999, the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant program has helped more than 13,000 local law enforcement agencies around the country purchase more than 1.1 million vests.

The Batesburg-Leesville Fire Department was notified recently that it has been selected to receive a US Department of Homeland Security grant to equip the department with 800 mhz compliant radios to meet the federal standards that go into effect in January 2017. Provided through the Assistance to Firefighter’s Grant Program, the Town is slated to receive $45,715 to upgrade existing equipment and purchase new radios that will comply with the 800 mhz requirement mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Fire Chief Jay Hendrix stated, “The new radios are used to communicate with the Lexington County Communications Center and statewide as part of the Palmetto 800 system where the Batesburg-Leesville Fire Department is a part of the Statewide Mutual Aid system.”

The grant was written by the Batesburg-Leesville Fire Chief, and is the first federal grant received by the department in almost a decade. This grant increases the total amount of grants and corporate donations over the past two years to more than $61,000.

Town Administrator Ted Luckadoo stated, “It is important for local governments to think outside the box when it comes to project funding. I am proud that our departments are working to utilize these other sources of grant funding in order to decrease the burden on the Town’s General Fund.”

Stay up-to-date on what is happening in the Town of Batesburg-Leesville by following us on Facebook and Twitter!