By Lyra Bordelon
Although now no-longer Rainelle Mayor, Jason Smith looks to contribute to the police department still in need of officers. To help support the department, he has started a Go Fund Me Campaign.
“Just because I resigned doesn’t mean I will not continue to support and back these great men and women that get overlooked on a regular basis,” Smith said. “I want to start honoring local law enforcement and with the hopes that I can take this statewide to give back to all law enforcement agencies.”
Rainelle’s Police Department is still on uncertain footing, with the recent appointment of Recorder Bill Bell serving as acting mayor until Town Council formally appoints a new mayor. This has also been set back due to the cancellation of the November Town Council meeting due to a COVID-19 exposure.
Smith set the campaign to raise $50,000 in order to “properly thank these individuals for their service.”
“Rainelle, like many other communities, has suffered a lot over the past few years, but law enforcement has been there to lend a helping hand. Politics gets in the way of this more than it should. Now we officially don’t have a police department due to politics. I, for one, stand behind every officer across this great state as well as the officers in my local community. They need to be honored in every way possible and without the support of citizens and businesses owners that live in these communities then it will never happen.”
The campaign can be found on the Go Fund Me page at www.gofundme.com/f/back-the-bluesupport-law-enforcement.