BLUE SPRINGS, Miss. (WTVA) -- A police car may look out of place right now in Blue Springs, but residents there will need to get used to it.
After all, there's a new police force in the town of less than 500: Officer Anthony Anderson.
If he looks familiar, that's probably because Anderson is also the police chief for the city of Verona.
Might make you wonder how he'll juggle both jobs.
"I'm the chief at Verona. That is my primary position. It'll take nothing away from them. This will be on a volunteer [basis] whenever someone calls me, or if I decide nothing's going on, if I decide I want to patrol just for added protection," Anderson said. "It'll just be to enforce the laws."
Anderson says the position will be part-time, and shouldn't interfere with his duties. He also lives just outside Blue Springs.
Town officials say it's a big step for a town that has more than doubled since a recent annexation.
"We don't have a crime problem and we don't expect a crime problem. But we do have a need for several things: one of them is a little extra coverage from time to time," Alderman Leanna Hollis said.
With nearby industries like the Toyota Mississippi plant, which is just outside the town limits, many say this is something that's needed.
"I think it's going to really be useful and needed on down the line, as [the town] grows,"
resident Kay Tate said.
Still, others don't know if it'll make a difference right away, like new Blue Springs resident Malcom Leath. He previously lived in the county before being annexed into the town.
"A part-time policeman is helpful, but we'll still be dependent on the highway patrol and local authorities," Leath said. "We do expect our policeman to do the best he can, and I think he will."
Anderson is expected to start his job as an officer later this month.
Hollis said the job will also include code enforcement.
Anderson will be paid hourly and will answer to the town's board of aldermen.
