Public Safety

Cheston Lee Stoneman, 29, of Hillsville has been arrested and charged with a series of crimes that occurred as a result of a pursuit on Jan. 7.
According to a police report, Galax Officer Chris Hines observed Stoneman driving a vehicle in the city and knew that Stoneman's privilege to drive was suspended. When Hines attempted to stop Stoneman, he fled east on Glendale Road into Carroll County, where he abandoned the vehicle he was driving.
Stoneman was tracked by a Carroll deputy and his canine, along with Galax officers Jody Poole and Terry Woods.

The Virginia Sheriffs’ Association is opposing the governor's budget proposal, which calls for sheriffs and staff to pay 5 percent on their retirement, provided that the locality grants a 3 percent salary increase.  

A preemption device on traffic signals along Main Street, East Stuart Drive and Meadow Street in Galax would make intersections safer for police, fire engines, ambulances and other traffic when emergency personnel are responding.

The fire department has tried unsuccessfully for years to land a grant for the Opticom system, but now a pool of leftover highway funds will finally allow Galax to put the equipment in place.
Opticom is a traffic control system that provides a green light — or intersection right-of-way — to emergency vehicles.

The steel gray Lenco armored vehicle that rolled through Galax on Wednesday for the first time will be housed by the Galax Police Department and used within the region as an incident response vehicle.
The Galax Police Department received a $251,792 grant from the Department of Criminal Justice Services Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program to buy the vehicle to respond to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives threats.