Sheriff’s department will get new cars

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Sheriff’s department will get new cars

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Thursday, July 14. 2011

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By Cindy Eckles
A 3-1 vote by the Dodge County Board of Commissioners will allow Dodge County Sheriff Jeff Hinson to get four new patrol cars.
Sheriff Hinson went before the commissioners at their May 18 meeting and requested that they sign a lease that would allow the sheriff’s office to purchase four new cars. After explaining to the commissioners that 10 of the sheriff’s fleet have more than 200,000 miles on them, eight other vehicles have more than 150,000 miles on them and that the four newest cars and a 2004 Chrysler P/T have 55,000 or less miles on them, commissioner Terry Niblett made the motion to go ahead and sign a lease allowing the sheriff to purchase the new cars. No one seconded the motion and so it did not pass.

At the meeting on Tuesday, July 5, commissioner Niblett made the motion again for the commissioners to sign a lease allowing the sheriff to purchase the new cars. Commissioners Niblett, Jr. Howell and Dan McCranie voted yes and commissioner Brian Watkins voted against.
“The lease program is a win-win situation for the county. It allows the county to maximize our purchase dollars. Instead of being eligible to out right purchase 1 and 1/2 new vehicles with our budget we can buy four new vehicles for the same budget amount. The vehicle payments are broken down into three annual payments at an extremely low interest rate. In addition, the vehicles are covered by a bumper to bumper warranty. The county is allowed to purchase the vehicle at the end of the lease for $1.00 and there is no mileage penalty. Most modern law enforcement agencies are on a fleet management program. Vehicles are purchased on intervals with the oldest highest mileage vehicles being rotated out of the fleet. Even locally, the Eastman Police Department leases their cars with a fleet management system when it comes to vehicle purchases and the board of education rotates out the oldest highest mileage school busses,” stated Hinson.
In other business, commission chairman McCranie told board members that the Dodge County Airport Authority Chairman Eddie Driggers and Eastman-Dodge County Development Authority member John Reddock had approached him about having the dumpsters moved off of a 2 1/2 acre piece of land on the Airport Road for work to be done for a prospective business. Board member Watkins was against the request and no action was taken.
Dodge County NAACP President John Battle and Macon-Bibb County NAACP President David Booker went before the board again requesting that the Confederate battle flag flying in front of the Dodge County Courthouse be taken down.
Booker read two letters from Macon Mayor Robert A. B. Reichert and Macon City Councilman Tom Ellington stating their views on why the flag should be taken down in Dodge County.
Battle told board members that this would be the last time a group would attend their meeting to make the request and a group of lawyers would be addressing the board in the future.
No action was taken on their request to take the flag down.
Commissioners reappointed Eddie Driggers and Wendell Graham to the Dodge County Airport Authority and Mike Pruett to the Workforce Investment Act board.
Commissioners also voted to give the rural fire departments the same funding in 2011 as their received in 2010.

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#1 Alaycium on 07/14/11 at 09:03 PM [Reply]

Hey John,you have no case,or your "lawyers" would already be here. And as for these Macon officiates? worry about yourselves. Notice how John cant get ANY support from our own county?

#2 Whats-it2U on 07/16/11 at 11:14 AM [Reply]

Mr. Battle and Mr. Booker needs to be trying to educate the young black boys/men on how to wear their pants up around their waist with a belt. It is extremely lewd to see them in Eastman (and other places) with their pants down and holding their crotch to keep them up. I have and will call the police when I see them in a public place. If John Battle had left things alone the Confederate Flag would not be flying 365 days a year. It would only be one day a year.

#2.1 Cherokee--Don't abuse the police on 07/17/11 at 01:54 PM [Reply]

The police should give the caller who calls them because they see someone pants sagging below their butt a ticket for abusing police power.

The officers have more serious calls to keep them busy in these days and time. While you are calling them,they could be on their way to a robbery or a buglary in progress.

Can you honestly say how many tickets you have gotten the police to write to an individual because of your action?

#3 Anonymous on 07/16/11 at 02:02 PM [Reply]

dumpsters moved off of a 2 1/2 acre piece of land on the Airport Road for work to be done for a prospective business. Board member Watkins was against the request and no action was taken

Then some action was taken, they are GONE??????

#4 Cherokee--Justice,Jobs and Jail on 07/16/11 at 06:16 PM [Reply]

Okay Confederate sons and daughters,get your lawyers together so I can be the first miniority to join you in a lawsuit.
I don't know who who we will sue but I sure hope it will be the NAACP for stirring up the crazy mess it has been trying to stir up, by the way I don't want the money I only want to make a statement that a miniority like myself can be against a cause that the NAACP is for because the cause is not for the GOOD of ALL races.

The Dodge County NAACP president(John Battle) has shown he is a one man show if he wasn't he wouldn't have to go to other Counties for support of what he is trying to do. The poor and middle class of all races here would like to have a person who can help them get some worthy causes done such as helping them to get better JUSTICE in the court system, making sure that the Dodge County Administrators keep the recently built JAIL on it's agenda and try to get someone to bring JOBS to Dodge County, these things could benefit ALL races. Battle needs to sit down and stop acting like a jackass running around kicking and getting nowhere.

#5 island time on 07/20/11 at 10:41 AM [Reply]

What does the opinion of anyone living in MACON have to do with Dodge County? John Battle needs to worry more about all the young black men that are having there names in the paper every week for drugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#6 Anonymous on 07/20/11 at 01:54 PM [Reply]

to whom ever it is not only blacks in the paper it is also whites and in case you didnt know some people pay to not have their name published

#7 Sarah Lanier on 07/20/11 at 08:10 PM [Reply]

After reading Brian Watkins Letter to the Editor, I have to wonder how we can justify spending $160,000 more on vehicles than necessary. We could have purchased 4 used patrol cars for $13-$15k each, outright, with no interest and cycled out 4 cars a year for the next 4 years (getting us 20 newer patrol cars as opposed to 4.) We could hire some staff for that new jail we built that we can't afford to open. I agree with Watkins that the county tax dollars could have been better spent.

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