In celebrating the opening of its new station today, the Weldon Police Department honored the legacy of a man who once treated patients in the building — the late Dr. Alton Anderson Sr.

Town Administrator Montre Freeman presented Anderson’s wife and daughter with a photo of the physician, which will hang in the lobby of the building located at 11 West Third Street.

“Alton Anderson was the epitome of this town,” Mayor Hugh Credle said following the ceremony. “He gave free physicals for the cheerleading team and big discounts for sports teams. He has always been here in the community, helping us out.”

After Dr. Anderson’s photo was unveiled, his wife, Terri, said, “I just had a flood of emotions. Tears came.”

She said her husband came to Weldon in 1980 after he was recruited by the former Roanoke Amaranth Healthcare, where he worked for two years. Then, he started his practice in the building that is now home to the police department. He also worked part-time giving medical care to inmates and maintained an office in Enfield.

The building had been vacant for at least 10 years, Terri said. “The commissioners had approached me about it. We initially hadn’t thought about selling the building. When they told me they wanted to have a new police department, I was very excited about it. Of course, talking it over with my adult children, they were supportive.”

She said, “I truly believe in the town of Weldon. We have a great police department here, and anything that we can do to promote the town and economic development and revitalization of this great town on the river, we were excited to do it. I’m so impressed with what they’ve done with the building.”

Terri, who worked with her husband for a while, said that feelings came over her when she stepped into the building. “It’s great seeing the building having life again.”

Chief Chris Davis said the spark that ignited the idea for a new police station came when a couple of town commissioners asked him if the building would be a good fit. “We got the key from Ms. Anderson, looked at the building, and just started envisioning things.”

The new station, just a short walk from the ABC store, offers the department a better location. “We’ve had a lot of people say they’ve seen the new police department.”

He said sometimes the only way travelers on Highway 158 recognized the old station on Washington Avenue was because of the police cars parked in the back. “It’s more visible than the other one was. This means a lot for us as a police department and for the town of Weldon as well.”

Freeman said the former police station will be converted into his office.

Credle said the new location “kind of puts teeth into our crime area and helps to protect our downtown area. There’s a lot of activity that goes on all around the center of town. By having the police station right next to the ABC store and down by our business district, it puts more teeth in our police presence therefore, it helps the community feel safer.”

The mayor said it makes the town look better. “The police department's presence will make a big difference here. There’s a lot of people that really didn’t know where the old department was.”

While there have been crimes committed at the liquor store in the past, Credle is hopeful those “creating a lot of chaos and stuff will think two or three times now because the police department is right at their doorstep.”