Normal approves contract to build new fire station

Normal Fire Chief Mick Humer said they hope to break ground in spring 2024. (Facebook/Normal Fire Department)

By WMBD-TV

NORMAL – On Tuesday, Normal Town Council approved a contract with Core Construction to begin planning for a new fire station. This will be the second new fire station since the opening of the headquarters station on Main Street in 2017.

The new fire station will be located at the intersection of Hershey and Shepard Roads. It will replace the current Fire Station No. 2 located at the corner of Blair Drive and College Avenue.

Normal Fire Chief Mick Humer said as the town evolves, the fire department is continuously working to meet the needs of the community. The goal is to make sure everyone has a quick response time when they need assistance.

“Whenever you reorganize fire stations somebody in that response area is going to have a little bit longer response time than maybe they did in the very beginning,” said Humer. “But it’s still going to be within that four to six-minute response area that we want to get for the entire community. So, it works out best for the entire community.”

Humer said they hope to break ground in spring 2024.

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…