BLUE SPRINGS, Miss. (WTVA) -- It's more about presence than just prosecution.
The town of Blue Springs is increasing their staff by one.
One man and a vehicle will soon hit the streets and all involved believe that will be enough to keep the peace.
Blue Springs resident and Alderwoman Shirley Allen is among those who love this Mayberry-like town, but even here it's not perfect.
"We have a lot of people walking the streets at night-a lot of traffic here all hours of the night. You never know who is going to stop or who is going to get out of their car-what they're doing. I'm looking forward to it," Allen said.
She's looking forward to the newest addition to the town-a part-time police officer.
Blue Springs is growing. They've grown from 1 to 3 square miles through annexation.
City officials say it just makes sense to establish a police presence.
"We want the presence of law enforcement. We're not gonna be out here ticketing everybody left and right. We still want to keep our Mayberry town atmosphere and let everybody know we do have some law around here," Blue Springs Vice Mayor Rita Gentry said.
"We're really pleased that we're gonna have a police presence. We have annexed a pretty large area and we just want to have someone available if someone needs help," Blue Springs Town Clerk Jan Musgrove said.
The timing is a little off to some.
"It's going to be ok because Blue Springs is going to eventually grow. It's really not needed, but in the near future will be," Blue Springs resident Doug Tate said.
"We've got to build a foundation and we've got to build on that. Nobody likes changes, but with growth comes change. We've got to embrace it. We might not like what's going on but it benefits everyone," Gentry added.
The new police officer is expected to the the first of a number of changes in Blue Springs including more street lighting.
The new police officer begins October first.
