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January 9th is a good day for police officers, as National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day is recognized nationwide. 

In Winchester, there was even more cause for celebration at the day’s City Commission meeting. 

On Thursday, Travis Thompson of the Winchester Police Department was named Chief effective February 1st 2025. 

At that time, current Chief James Hall will be stepping down in retirement. 

“It’s a big day for the community,” said Winchester Mayor JoEllen Reed  “Travis has been right on target. He comes to every city commission meeting already. He spends time with each of us and helps us through the week. He’ll check on us to see if we need things and we’re looking forward [to it].” 

Thompson, a previous Fiscal Court magistrate and current Patrol Sergeant with Winchester PD, was present along with his wife Cenchrea and two children, Addison and Tucker. 

While being recognized, which included having his wife provide a pin for him to wear designating Thompson as the new police chief, Thompson was also surrounded by numerous members of the police force. 

Along with Hall, former police chief Kevin Palmer was also in attendance. 

After receiving a round of applause, Thompson took a few moments to speak to those in the crowd – who included Winchester Fire Department Chief Chris Whitely, current Fiscal Court Magistrate Robert Blanton, and many others. 

“I want to thank God for leading me here today and blessing me with this opportunity,” Thompson said, also thanking his family, members of the City Commission, Palmer, and others. “We will continue providing for this community and under my leadership, this department will always have your back, and I appreciate you having ours.” 

Thompson also spoke to fellow staff members that attended. 

“I know that there’s always some uncertainty and a level of nervousness about what the future holds when change comes. Please know that I’m here for you and I have your back. I’ll be meeting with each of you individually in the coming weeks, so be prepared to discuss where you are currently in the department and where you want to go in your career,” he said. “Together, we will continue to build the best police department that we can possibly have to serve this community.” 

In addition to welcoming Thompson, Mayor Reed took time to recognize Hall’s service. 

“I want to thank you personally for what you’ve done for this community [and] what you’ve done for each of us personally as commissioners. You’ve always been available,” Reed said. “You’ve been a tremendous leader and an asset to this community, and you will be missed.” 

In other news, an order accepting and approving the bid for the Jackson Street bridge removal and water line relocation to H&B Construction in the amount of $415,739.98 was approved.

“[The] bridge will be demolished [and] rebuilt with a culvert,” said City Manager Bruce Manley, speaking after the meeting. “The reasoning is because that’s an abandoned railroad track so there’s no need for it to be more. Really, it’s going to save the city money in the long run by not maintaining a bridge in the future because if trains aren’t going under it any more, then we don’t need to have it. We’re actually removing the bridge, and then we’re just [going to] repair the road to make it straight through.” 

The site of the Jackson Street bridge had recently made headlines for safety concerns when a sinkhole opened up in November. 

During Thursday’s meeting, Manley also spoke. 

“[I’m] very pleasantly surprised that this was the bid that came in,” he stated. “We were expecting a lot more [in total costs].” 

Former City Manager Mike Flynn, now a consultant, mentioned upcoming plans. 

“We’ll probably have a preconstruction meeting once we send the bid documents back,” he said. “I would think that we’ll probably have a meeting about the beginning of February with them, and hopefully during the month of February you’ll see [construction] getting started out there once we have all the documents.”