Shepherdstown Chief of Police Mike King, on the right, announces the award recognition given to patrolman Billy Carper, left, during the town council meeting on March 10. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — “We thank you, Officer Carper, for your good service to the town of Shepherdstown,” said Mayor Jim Auxer to Shepherdstown Police Department patrolman William Carper.

Carper, who left a higher-paying security position to return to work the night shift at the police department, which he had formerly worked at, has said he returned to work at the department because he missed working in Shepherdstown. According to Chief of Police Mike King, when he was asked by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3522 to submit a police officer to be considered for an award, Carper was the first person he thought of.

“In the fall of 2019, they approached all the agencies in Jefferson County and asked for an officer nomination, and we nominated Officer Billy Carper. They only chose one person to be honored with their certificate of appreciation,” King said, mentioning he wasn’t surprised Carper was chosen to be the recipient for the VFW Certificate of Appreciation.

“He knows how the community runs, how it works. Billy has shown his dedication to us — he gave up a lot to work with us,” King said, during the March 10 town council meeting.

“He’s been here about 9-10 months now. I know he was here several years prior to that,” King said, mentioning Carper was the only officer in the department for many years.

“He’s been involved in various areas of law enforcement,” King said about Carper’s career. “What he likes about working here, is the policing. He loves the police aspect of law enforcement. He takes it very seriously, and does his best to address it very well.”

The town council meeting also featured regular aspects of business, including approving the April 3 Relay for Life event, the Sept. 5 Stronger With Each Step 5K through downtown Shepherdstown, the May 16-17 Back Alley Garden Tour and Tea and the outdoor Shepherdstown Farmer’s Market, which began on Sunday and will continue being held at its weekly location behind the Shepherdstown Public Library through Dec. 20. While some of the market’s vendors were not able to return this year, due to aging issues, a few vendors were found to add some new products to the market, including a dog treat vendor, maple syrup vendor and produce vendor.

“We try not to have vendors who compete with the town’s businesses,” said market co-organizer Megan Webber about the vendor choices.

The final major approval by the town council, was of the town’s application for AARP’s Community Challenge Grant.

“We tried to prepare for this application really quickly, as it needs to be submitted by April 1,” said Age-Friendly Shepherdstown Committee Chair Linda Spatig, mentioning the grant would “pay for an informational signage/kiosk to be located at the intersection of German and King Streets. The kiosk would feature the parks of Shepherdstown, as well as historic locations and museums.”