Officials weigh in on possible GSP post in Banks County

HOMER - Following Tuesday night's division among Banks County Commissioners about possibly using local tax money to construct a Georgia State Patrol post in the county, state and local officials spoke out on the proposal. Col. Mark McDonough Col. Mark McDonough, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety, said he felt it was important enough that he left a police chiefs' conference so that he personally could attend the Banks County meeting. "Our relationship is very, very close to local government," McDonough said. "You know the comment that all politics is local. That couldn't be more of a true thing with the Patrol, because if you look at all of our facilities all of the local communities have paid for them. That's a relationship that keeps us close to the community, and it's where we want to be. "In today's world with everything going on and you hear people talking about consolidation, consolidation, that's not what law enforcement needs to be," McDonough said. "It needs to be as close to folks as possible. You know what their needs are, you can meet their needs. "Obviously, the commissioners in Banks County are arm wrestling over whether they're going to ask for a patrol post to be put here, and so you defer to their wisdom," McDonough said. "I know that no matter what community that we come to we offer free help to local law enforcement; that's what we're here to do since 1937. That's the reason why the legislature started us, for local law enforcement to get free, experienced, well-trained, unbiased law enforcement help - and that's what the Patrol does. "If we come to the community, we work accidents, we get DUI drivers off the road, and we slow people down," McDonough said. "In doing that, 52 percent of the time we write them warnings. For most folks, just getting stopped changes the behavior, and that's what we're trying to do is change the behavior." McDonough stressed the current post design is basic in nature, not elaborate as some in the past may have been. "We've built a lot of beautiful buildings around the state, but they've really been overbuilt," McDonough said. "What we've tried to do is take a look at what meets our needs, so we've gone with a very traditional ranch - hallway down the center, gable roof, four corners - and it's easy to construct and in the future if you need to it's easy to expand." Each post constructed with the current design includes office space for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources ranger that's in and around the area, as well as for the Motor Carrier Compliance officers who enforce laws related to commercial vehicles. "We tried to make sure that it's a place that's welcoming to everybody and that can provide office space to whoever needs it - very functional, very simple, and as inexpensive as possible to build," McDonough said. "We'll see what the future holds," McDonough said. "If it's something that the community deems fit then they put forward a proposal then we'll consider it. We've just put a Patrol post up in Hart County and very quickly that's been very successful, and the community has been very appreciative of it, so that same thing could come to Banks County if they wanted it." Wayne Abernathy Wayne Abernathy of Lula, who has served on the State Board of Public Safety for more than three decades, also attended Tuesday night's meeting. He spoke in favor of a Georgia State Patrol post in Banks County. "The only thing I can say is I've been on the board 32 years and I've never known of any community that didn't want a Patrol post," Abernathy said. "I don't know of a single post in the state of Georgia that is not appreciated by the county and its citizens. "It's a safety issue," Abernathy said. "I don't care what anybody says about it. They're out to protect you. When they take one off the road, they might protect 50 others. That's my take on it. It's been my heart since I've been on the board." Commissioners Banks County Commission Vice Chairman Charles Turk, who said he is in favor of exploring a Georgia State Patrol post in the county, said he thought Tuesday's discussion was to bring the matter up publicly, with media present, so that accurate information could be disseminated to county residents. "I thought the purpose of this was to let the people know that this was being looked at - strictly only being looked at," Turk said. "There's nothing that says it's going to be done. Just put it out there and let the people let us know whether they think it's a good idea or not." Turk referred to McDonough's comment during the meeting that by having a post in the county it would provide three extra law enforcement personnel, in the form of troopers, on any given day. "That's one thing to look at," Turk said. "Then, a quicker response time on wrecks. I think now it's just out there to see if there's any public feedback on it, and kind of go from there." Banks County Commissioner Sammy Reece, who has advocated exploring whether a Georgia State Patrol post is right for the county, also spoke about Tuesday night's often-contentious meeting. "The most important thing to me in this county is public safety," Reece said. "Anytime we can take the load off our sheriff's department, help them in any way, pitch in and help one another, it's a great thing. "I can't see how anybody could be against a State Patrol post coming to a county," Reece said. "[Commission Chairman Jimmy Hooper] said it wasn't a priority, but I can't see putting an exercise room priority over a State Patrol post when it comes to public safety for the people of this county." Reece said he realizes not everyone in the county will be in favor of constructing the GSP post. "I'm sure there's a lot of people don't want a State Patrol post in this county, but drug dealers don't want a drug task force in the county either," Reece said. "It's just a no-brainer."