The food was plentiful and the news was good at Vincent Town Hall Aug. 28, as Mayor Ray McAllister gave an update on several of the town’s business matters.

Vincent was August’s site for the monthly South Shelby Chamber of Commerce’s Coffee With the Mayor event.

McAllister first spoke about the town’s new police car, a 2009 Dodge Charger, which was expected to be patrolling Vincent streets in late July. With the Chrysler company’s recent problems, delivery on the car has been put off, but it should be in Vincent and ready to go soon, he said.

McAllister said the town is still waiting to hear back about a fire truck grant from the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA. He said the government had more than 7,000 applicants for the grants, but he knows Vincent meets all the qualifications.

The mayor spoke of the importance of the 2010 Census for Vincent, saying the town could potentially lose hundreds of dollars for each uncounted person.

“We need all our citizens and officials to be pro-Census and make sure everybody gets counted,” he said.

The town will have a historical marker coming from the Year of Alabama Small Towns and Downtowns program for the town’s famous Christmas tree, which is the oldest in the state. The ceremony for the marker will be during the 2010 Christmas parade.

McAllister also reminded the crowd of the town’s campaign to buy new lights for the Christmas tree.

The South Shelby Chamber of Commerce, Bryant Bank, Shelby Baptist Medical Center and Alabama Power sponsored the event.