News
Athens Co. Sheriff Awarded Public Safety Grant
< < Back toDrivers in Athens County can expect to see more sheriff's deputies on the roads soon thanks to a grant from the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
The Athens County Sheriff's Office received the $28,000 sum to increase deputies and enforcement.
Sheriff Pat Kelly says the High Visibility Enforcement Overtime Grant increases deputies on the streets and highways.
Their goal is to seek out impaired, aggressive, and criminal-based drivers.
Kelly says deputies will enforce all seat belt and child restraint laws at traffic stops with no discretion.
The grant was awarded as a result of the sheriff's office joining forces with the Ohio Department of Public Safety and the Office of Criminal Justice Services.
The sheriff's office is mandated to participate in concentrated patrol events each month as part of the funding's terms.
Kelly says his office kicked off the grant with a Homecoming Blitz and plans a Halloween Blitz in the near future.
The money will be used from now until September of next year.