With cold weather quickly approaching, winters like this are especially difficult for those less fortunate in the community.

Last winter the City of Bristol’s Spread the Glove campaign proved to be an overwhelming success, with over 1,000 items donated. The campaign actually began two years ago when a transit driver saw some of her bus riders without gloves and other cold weather necessities. She decided she had to do something to help out, so she set out to gather cold weather items. On cold days, she tied the items to umbrellas located at the city’s transit center for anyone to take who needed such. Other members of the community reached out to help and began knitting toboggans, mittens, gloves and scarves to donate.

Last year the city’s Community Relations Department took on the program; and with the assistance of local radio stations and high school sports teams, the Spread the Glove campaign began without any expectations of how it would work out. With those partnerships in place, the department was able to spread the word to the public.  “We were overwhelmed with the thoughtfulness shown by so many in our community,” said Terrie Talbert, Director of Community Relations for the City.
This year’s Spread the Glove initiative will begin on Thursday, December 1 and will continue through the end of February.

Donations of any new or gently used gloves, hats, and scarves may be brought to the lobby in Bristol Tennessee’s City Hall, or any of the city Fire Stations.  Staff will collect the items and attach a note letting everyone know the items are not lost, but are there for the taking if someone should find themselves out in the cold and in need of something warm.  City staff will be responsible for placing the items in the downtown area. “Winters can be long.  It will take a true community effort for the initiative to be successful again this year.” Talbert said.

City officials gathered at the future site of Bristol, Tennessee’s newest fire station to break ground for its construction to begin. The station, which will be located at 1404 Hwy 11W, will be the fifth in the City, and will be in prime location to provide fire protection and EMS services to The Pinnacle retail development, Wellmont Bristol Regional Medical Center, and numerous other properties on the west end of town. This area is currently served by Station No. 3 on 17^th Street, approximately 4 miles away, so the placement of the new station will cut response times dramatically.

Bristol, Tennessee Fire Chief Bob Barnes said, “The properties on this end of town represent hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of investments in retail development alone, not to mention the medical center and existing residential areas.” He continued, “Enhanced fire protection for this end of town was definitely needed, and this new station will provide that peace of mind to business owners as well as residents.”

In addition to enhanced response times, the addition of new fire protection resources could potentially improve the City’s ISO rating from a current Class 3 to a Class 2, joining Kingsport and Johnson City in the very few fire departments statewide who have achieved this rating. Better ISO ratings can potentially decrease the cost to insure properties within the community protected by the fire department.

“Our fire department has always been dedicated to providing the highest quality fire protection and emergency medical services possible to protect our community,” said Bristol, Tennessee Mayor Chad Keen. “That high level of service and success is due to the professionally trained members of the department, and we want to provide them with all of the tools and technology necessary to respond to any emergency that may arise within our City’s corporate limits,” he added.

The estimated cost for construction of the roughly 10,000 square foot station will be approximately $2.4 million. Additionally, 9 new full-time fire fighters will be hired to staff the station, and new equipment purchases will include an ambulance and a 75 foot quint, which serves the dual purpose of an engine and a ladder truck. Built-in training features will also be incorporated into the facility. The principal contractor for the project is JA Street and Associates, and construction is anticipated to be complete by the end of summer 2017.

Officials from the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Tennessee Valley Authority gathered alongside Bristol, Tennessee and Bristol, Virginia city leaders on Wednesday, November 9^th, 2016 to commemorate the completion of the Beaver Creek Flood Damage Reduction Project. The ceremony took place at the recently dedicated Jerry Goodpasture Plaza, near the site where ground was first broken on the project in 2012. The celebration represented the culmination of more than a decade of planning and cooperative efforts among the agencies and municipalities involved.

The impetus for this project was a desire to protect the commercial assets of downtown Bristol from the risk of potential flood damage, which has historically been very costly. Reducing the risk of the adverse economic impacts associated with flooding is a critical component of the continued revitalization of Bristol’s downtown area. Additionally, these improvements will provide greater flood protection to other areas along Beaver Creek that have previously been flood prone as well.

Planning for the project began in 2001 with an agreement to conduct a feasibility study, which would produce a detailed project report and environmental assessment, outlining potential courses of action for completion. The project was divided into four phases, the last of which included the widening of the channel and removal of the bridge at 8^th Street, which impeded creek flow, along with replacing the pedestrian bridge on the Wes Davis Greenway. Other components have included site modifications at the former Sears building and Beaver Creek Dam inlet, as well as channel widening near 6^th Street.

The cost for the project is shared between the federal government and the Cities of Bristol, Tennessee and Virginia, with design and construction being managed by the USACE Nashville District. Construction contracts for the project were awarded to Aspen Construction and Stephens Construction, Inc.