On Tuesday, the Armington Village Board had a meeting to discuss the future of their police department. The cause for this decision on the future of the police department was the change in the way Tazwell county bills communities for 911 dispatch service. They used to bill communities based on the number of 911 calls handled from that community. Now they are billed on a flat rate, regardless of the number of calls. The 911 dispatch bill for Armington went from $1,800 annually to $8,300 annually with the change. With this drastic increase in cost, a decision to either keep or cut the police department had to be made. 

The Village of Armington held it’s Christmas Tree lighting ceremony on Saturday, November 27th. A large crowd packed the Armington Community Building for a chance to watch the Christmas lights illuminate in Maple Street Park for the first time of the season. 

This week we go to Armington for our “Meet the Chief” series. Bob Stroud has been Armington’s Fire Chief since January 2021. When asked about what the best part of being the chief is, Stroud proclaimed, “The best part is being a part of a good group of people who are there to help out when others need it.” Armington’s Community Fire and Rescue Protection District was founded in 1948. The firefighters are all volunteer workers. Their district services parts of Logan and Tazewell counties. 

Ryan Sweeney grew up in Bloomington, Illinois. He began volunteering in the Secor Fire Department in 2004, and in 2006 he joined the Armington Fire and Rescue Department. In 2007 Ryan moved to the rescue side of the fire department, and just a little over a year ago he became chief of the rescue department. Overall Ryan has been volunteering and helping those in need for over 17 years.