It has not been long since the Lanagan Police Department was just an idea in the mind of Lanagan Mayor Stan Haywood.
When Haywood took office in 2013, the police department was all but abandoned, he said. There were no police officers. There was one car, but its battery was missing.
"Since that time, we've brought it up to what you see now," he said.
The department has five regular officers and seven reserve officers. There are four cars in the fleet, which includes a Hummer. The officers have developed relationships with other local, state and federal organizations to help procure the needed equipment and resources to keep the residents of Lanagan safe.
Asked how they accomplished it, Haywood said, "A lot of scrimping and saving. A lot of neighboring cities; we'd buy cars from them for $1 or $2."
Police Chief C. Creekmore said the department was excited to receive a contribution to its armory from the Department of Defense through the state of Missouri this year. The department received five 12-gauge shotguns, two M-14s, five M-16 A2s and five M-1911s, he said.
The department has four new officers this year: Officer A. Lemon, Officer A. Miller, Sgt. J. Phillips and Corp. C. Poitras.
General News on 10/18/2018