Dodge will sponsor task force

This move threatened the mere existence of the unit, as without a sponsoring agency, the federal grant funds could not be awarded to the drug task force.
Upon learning of this dilemma, Oconee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Tim Vaughn, Dodge County Sheriff Jeff Hinson, and Dodge County Board of Commissioner’s Chairman Dan McCranie met with Oconee Drug Task Force Commander Jamie Jones of the GBI, and pledged their commitment to resolving the matter. Chairman McCranie called an emergency meeting of the board of commissioners on Tuesday morning June 1, 2010, to discuss the matter. District Attorney Vaughn, Sheriff Hinson and Commander Jones attended the meeting and briefed commissioners on the issue at hand, after which the board voted unanimously to become the new sponsor. The decision requires no financial commitment by Dodge County and is merely an administrative requirement to qualify for the federal grant that funds the drug task force.

Personnel of the drug task force would like to thank the officials of Dodge County for their swift action. The drug task force is located in Eastman and provides investigative services to participating member agencies located within the Oconee Judicial Circuit. These agencies include the sheriff’s departments of Dodge, Montgomery, Pulaski, Telfair and Wheeler, as well as the city police departments of Eastman, Hawkinsville and McRae.

The Bleckley County Sheriff’s Department and the Cochran Police Department will now be responsible for conducting their own drug investigations, and will receive no further assistance from the drug task force after June 30, 2010. Between 2003 and 2009, the ODTF opened 270 cases and arrested 224 violators for drug offenses in Bleckley County and the City of Cochran.

Anyone residing in the coverage territory of the ODTF with information concerning drug activity is encouraged to contact the office locally at (478) 448-4685 or toll free at 1-877-448-4685. You may remain anonymous.