CATLIN – Village officials learned Tuesday that the police department had received a grant for a new computer for one of its two squad cars.

Police Chief Cash Cook said the department had received a $6,800 grant from the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System for the purchase of a new mounted computer. Installing the computer will cost the village up to $500.

The new computer will replace the current one in the car, which was installed in 1997. The computers allow officers to check license plate information, view lists of stolen property, review the status of people wanted by police, and communicate with other squad cars.

Cook said the older computer did well for the department, but that technology had advanced past it, and that the new computer will be much faster.

Mayor Clay Woodard praised Cook's efforts in obtaining the grant, and said the village may replace the older computer in the other squad car, as well.

In other business, the Catlin village board approved paying Jodi's Asphalt & Sealcoating of rural Danville to replace a worn, 40-foot-long section of sidewalk along Short Street near Vermilion Street for about $500.

Woodard said the Catlin fire department had donated a portable generator to the village, which could be placed on a trailer and used to provide temporary power to lift station pumps or lights during evening repair work.

The board also plans to seek bids for the 1991 pickup truck which had been used by the streets and alleys department.