LCRA awards $50,000 grant to Dove Creek VFD for station upgrades

New classroom at Station 2 will be available for firefighter training, community education and public meetings

Dec. 16, 2025

LCRA representatives present a $50,000 grant to the Dove Creek Volunteer Fire Department for upgrades to fire station 2. The grant is part of LCRA’s Community Grants program. Pictured, from left to right, are: Cheston Morris, VFD senior firefighter; Brent Koester, VFD president; Cooper Hogg, LCRA Regional Affairs representative; State Rep. Drew Darby; Melissa K. Blanding and Carol Freeman, LCRA Board members; Sontos Chavez, VFD fire chief; Randi Whitehead, VFD secretary/captain; Chris Campbell, VFD assistant fire chief; Rick Wooten, VFD firefighter and voting member; and Raythen Broadway, Ken Hill and Wesley Nixon, VFD firefighters.
TOM GREEN COUNTY, Texas – The Dove Creek Volunteer Fire Department soon will complete a new classroom to provide a permanent space for live, hands-on training for emergency responders and a venue the public can use for community meetings, thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority.

The community grant, along with $23,485 in matching funds from the department, will support improvements that will provide office space and a meeting room in Station 2. The improvements will enable the department to conduct training for Dove Creek VFD and neighboring departments on-site, as well as provide a site for voting, community education and public meetings.

“This grant is an incredible benefit to our community and our volunteers,” said Sontos Chavez, Dove Creek fire chief. “Right now, we have to travel to other departments just to use their classrooms for training. With this support, we can finally build our own dedicated training space. Having a real classroom here at Station 2 will make our training more efficient, more consistent and ultimately strengthen the service we provide to the residents we serve.”

The grant will help fund a new HVAC system, bathroom, interior walls, fans, lighting, exit signs, switches and electrical outlets, in Station 2, which opened earlier this year at the site of the old Pecan Creek Fire Station.

The room will be available to civic groups and community clubs by appointment.

Dove Creek VFD covers just under 300 square miles in the southwestern part of Tom Green County and responds to structure fires, wildland fires, medical calls and mutual-aid emergencies throughout the Concho Valley region.

This is one of 41 grants awarded recently through LCRA Community Grants. These grants are awarded twice a year as part of LCRA’s effort to give back to communities in its wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas.

Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in January. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.

About LCRA

The Lower Colorado River Authority serves customers and communities throughout Texas by managing the lower Colorado River; generating and transmitting electric power; providing a clean, reliable water supply; and offering outdoor adventures at more than 40 parks along the Colorado River from the Texas Hill Country to the Gulf Coast. LCRA and its employees are committed to fulfilling our mission to enhance the quality of life of the Texans we serve through water stewardship, energy and community service. LCRA was created by the Texas Legislature in 1934 and receives no state appropriations.

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Clara Tuma, Public Information Officer
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