County asked to hire DUI officer

Bedford County is number one in the state in a very undesirable category -- fatal alcohol-related crashes, according to Det. Todd Hammond of Bedford County Sheriff's Department. The county also ranks poorly in several other accident-related categories.

The state says the county has been making good efforts under the first two years of a highway safety grant program, but state officials have suggested a different approach for the third year of the program. Instead of using the grant funds for extra man-hours spread across the existing staff, the state wants the county to hire a dedicated officer whose primary responsibility would be DUI enforcement.

But if state grant funds run out after this year, the county would need to pay that officer in future years.

Board of Commissioners' law enforcement and workhouse committee heard a request Tuesday night from the sheriff's department to hire the DUI officer.

Tony Barrett, who is both a county commissioner and a sheriff's deputy working as a school resource officer, outlined the basic situation and introduced Hammond to provide the details.

Barrett said the DUI officer would work 10 hours a day, four days a week, largely on weekends when the DUI threat is greatest.

Assuming that the county receives the same $40,310 grant for the upcoming fiscal year that it received for the current fiscal year, it would spend $34,878 on the officer, and the rest on additional manpower for holidays.

Hammond said there's a possibility the county would receive the DUI grant for a fourth year, but that's not guaranteed. If the grant weren't available going forward, the county would have to pay the DUI officer's salary or release him.

Sheriff Randall Boyce said the county has fewer state troopers than it should, and so county DUI enforcement has become more important.

"Currently," said Boyce, "we're at half-staff on our state troopers."

The law enforcement committee voted to recommend the program but referred the issue to the financial management committee.

In other discussion Tuesday night:

* The committee heard a presentation from Dr. Johnny Bates of Quality Correctional Health Care, a competitor of Southern Health Partners, which was given the contract this year for health care at Bedford County Jail. Bates said that his company has a higher contract price than Southern Health Partners but claimed the company would save the county money in the long run because more expenses are covered or controlled under the contract. Last month, the financial management committee voted to pay Southern Health Partners $22,184 in inmate health care expense overages. The contract with Southern Health Partners includes the first $25,000 in care, but any care over and above that amount must be reimbursed by the county. SHP spent $47,184 on inmate care in October, November and December, the first three months of the contract, according to an invoice.

Bates said that Bradley County is so pleased with Quality Correctional Health Care that it has just renewed its contract for a multi-year term, the first time it's ever done so.

* Animal Control director Michael Gregory reported that a representative of the Rescue Waggin' program was in Shelbyville on Tuesday and was pleased with animal control efforts here, saying that grants are possible which could benefit local programs. The county uses the Rescue Waggin' program to transport some impounded animals out of state to prospective owners so that they won't have to be euthanized. The program is affiliated with PetSmart stores and sponsored by Pedigree pet foods.

* The committee heard that there's been no word from the state about whether it will place a traffic light at the intersection of U.S. 231 and State Route 82 near Deason. The commission has requested a traffic light, but so far state officials have only placed flashing warning lights near the intersection, as well as rumble strips on S.R. 82 approaching the intersection. Commissioner Bobby Fox said the rumble strips have already been worn away by snowplows during the recent winter weather.