Last week Valley Grande Mayor Herb Story said that Selma should have pulled its public services from his town in February, when it officially incorporated.

This week they got pulled.

According to Mayor James Perkins Jr., Selma will no longer provide police and fire protection to Valley Grande.

Perkins brought the matter to the attention of the Selma City Council at a special called meeting Thursday. He presented a letter written by Valley Grande attorney J. Doyle Fuller concerning the issue.

According to Selma Fire Chief Henry Allen, Fuller got his wish at a 10 a.m. Friday meeting. &uot;We did not invite this,&uot; Allen said. &uot;We’re a public servant. The question is, you can’t say you want fire protection and also say, ‘Keep the police out of my territory.’ We offer dual services.&uot;

Allen noted that he was in the process of examining maps of the Valley Grande area to determine which portions are incorporated and which portions still remain unincorporated.

Susan Copeland, an attorney with Fuller’s firm, said Fuller’s letter only addressed keeping Selma’s police department out of Valley Grande.

She noted that Selma’s fire department wasn’t required to provide services to Valley Grande, but added, &uot;I thought that there was an agreement between all fire departments in Dallas County to help each other.&uot;

At the council’s Thursday meeting, Councilwoman Nancy Sewell asked if Fuller’s letter was applicable to both police and fire. Councilwoman Bennie Ruth Crenshaw was quick to respond.