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State grant will buy cars, radar and computers
Becky Wallace, highway safety program director. (Voice)
The $165,000 grant was awarded to the Dare County Sheriff’s Office through the Governor’s Highway Safety Program with a $55,000 local match.
Sheriff Doug Doughtie said Thursday most of the money will be used to form a new traffic safety team to patrol rural roads. No new personnel will be added.
“In addition to some extra enforcement tools, we will have strong public information programs to raise awareness about driving while impaired, texting while driving, and the dangers of excessive speed,” Doughtie said.
The money will buy three vehicles for $30,000 each. They will be painted white on black, the opposite of the current color scheme, to distinguish them as traffic enforcement vehicles.
Doughtie said no decision has been made on what kind of vehicles the office will buy. But they will probably not be Chrysler products because of problems with earlier models.
Money will also go toward three computer terminals for vehicles costing $8,000 each.
Seven in-car cameras will be added to the 16 already installed in vehicles. Money will also go toward three hand-held radar guns with laser beams that can pinpoint vehicles in traffic.
Three pole-mounted radar units for use on roadsides will also be added.
The traffic enforcement unit will do its work in Colington, in Wanchese, on the mainland and on Hatteras Island, where there is no longer a state trooper permanently assigned, Doughtie said.
Becky Wallace, director of the highway safety program, was on hand for a ceremonial presentation of the grant outside the Dare County courthouse Thursday.
Forfeitures and money already in the sheriff’s budget will cover $25,000 of the local share and $30,000 will come from the county’s contingency fund.
“Our partnership and the dedication of your officers guarantee a successful program,” Wallace said.
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beachornot says:
Exactly how may sheriff vehicles do we need? In a time when austerity should be the word of the day, we just can’t seem to come to grips with that concept. We currently seem to have an extensive fleet of SUV’s and different color schemes for our sheriff department. Anyone have an idea of the number of vehicles owned by Dare County? Wake up elected officials, we are going bankrupt!
Matthew Byrne says:
$8,000 for a single mobile computer?
That line item needs some additional thought perhaps. Cell phone companies GIVE AWAY devices that can do as much – I am willing to wager.
beachlivin' says:
Wait….didt they just get new cars??? What is wrong with all the new ones they got?
John VanderMyde says:
Just what Dare country needs – more traffic stops. We are quickly becoming a police state.
New to KDH says:
wow – really and we were able to match $55,000 – so ridiculous and not needed – that money is needed so many other places
ekim says:
Big WASTE! sorry that TAX $$$$$ I ment grant $$$$ could be used in better areas then this please.
Junkman says:
More toys for cops ? These guys just got new cars. Times are tough, they need to cut costs too. What a waste of money. Invest in education.
Bob Samuels says:
Sheriff Doughtie should’ve put the grant money toward putting more resource officers in the high schools – our schools need to be safe and drug free.
beachlivin' says:
or better yet, they should have bought a new chopper for med flight so we could get critically injured people off the islands. ive heard a rumor that they cant afford the helo, anyone else hear this?
Nags Header says:
The only thing I’ve seen our “Republican” Sheriff do is spend money. I’m really starting to rethink my vote!
Tony says:
Fix the NEW BROKEN Radio System with that money please!
fyi says:
To the folks that have suggested the grant money be spent else where, that money comes from the Governor’s Highway Safety Fund from the State of NC. The sheriff is only allowed to spend it on the traffic unit related items, not school resource officers, etc. The grant actually spells out where the money has to be spent. Considering the cost for the amount of equipment being purchased and the counties share, this is a heck of a deal.
Matthew Byrne says:
Not at all against Grants – just vendors & spenders that take Grant money for Grant-Ed…
beachornot says:
The point I believe a number of folks were trying to make is that The Governors Highway Safety Program doesn’t have any money. The state of NC doesn’t have any money, nor does Dare County. The money belongs to the citizens of the state. There really can’t be anyone out there who does not believe we should be on an austerity budget for every level of government. There can’t be any out there who believe that government’s budget should work differently that your household budget. Yet at no level of government do we see any attempt to reduce spending. I know we just bought new sheriff vehicles, why should we need more?
53% says:
fyi, you are correct in saying GHSP funds are obligated toward targeted traffic related problems; however your assertion that we got a heck of a deal implies that this money was free. NC receives GHSP money from the federal coffers, which are filled with money from my pocket and the 53% of Americans that pay taxes.
Does accepting this grant money mean we can eliminate three troopers from the State payroll?
fyi says:
53%,I understand your point also, but the equipment the sheriff is purchasing is very needed. The state makes the money available to law enforcement agencies acrosss the state. Why shouldn’t Dare County benefit from it. If Dare County doesn’t receive it, someone else will. As far as the higway patrol is concerned, it is not uncommon for only one trooper to be on duty for the entire county. So a deputy on the scene of a wreck in Hatteras Village may have to wait for a trooper to respond from East Lake. And if that trooper is tied up on a wreck or arrest, that just adds to the response time. So now you have deputy tied up on a wreck for possibly a couple of hours when that deputy could be patrolling.
By the way, the Highway Patrol has cancelled the 2011 academy, the first time they have ever had to do this since their inception in the late 1920′s. There is talk the 2012 academy may be cancelled also. The highway patrol was also mandated by state to lay off civilian positions and cut millions from it’s budget.
If you want to know why the sheriffs office needs new vehicles Beachornot, give Sheriff Doughtie a phone call and ask him. I’m sure he can give you a very qualified answer versus assumptions from nameless sources on the internet.
Tracy says:
Was i the only one who seen all the new cars during st pattys parade? come on now!
Island Safety says:
We don’t have very many rural roads. How many miles per car are there now? And on how many of these roads is traffic a problem? Not accidents, traffic. If no additional officers are being added how does this increase their presence? We already have a fleet of marked and unmarked cars running around down here. I live on Hatteras Island and we have basically one road. I’ve not noticed a lack of police response when we have an accident. The other emergency personnel are important as first responders, the deputy can take 10 more minutes, it’s ok. Reallocate the $$$ to our schools.
Freemarket says:
Come on 53%, stop spreading your 53% false message about only that many pay taxes…it is a pure lie and a direct reaction to a valid movement being made. If you want to base a message off of one part of a story you are knowingly masking the truth…taxes are paid by more than 53% of the population…read it up and stop being a sheep.
To the topic at hand, it is a waste of funds for the fed to be issuing funds out to state programs to monitor traffic situations where there are not traffic problems…when are the politicians going to wise up and do the right things?
Disgusted says:
We need more cars to place at intersections where the lights blink.
beachlivin' says:
i know, why didnt they decline the money and inform the state that we didnt need it. maybe another county needs it more….oh wait, that means they would have a consience, and that wouldnt make them a politician. ok, im stepping off my soapbox now.
David Davidson says:
The “law enforcement” in outer banks is becoming the new Gestapo,what a bunch of Nazis.
beachornot says:
FYI – I believe I will simply concede that you have a right to your opinion, however wrong it might be.
John says:
so are these unmarked Chevy’s with leather interior, sunroofs and spoilers like several I’ve seen roaming Dare County? where is mine?
J Williams says:
I totally agree with fyi. What most of you folks should be concerned about is why the sate has chosen not to station a Highway Patrolman on Hatteras Island. Many of you will gripe and use lip service until something bad happens to you or a member of your family and ask why.
You should be thankful that you have a pro active and not a re-active Sheriff and staff. Thanks Sheriff Doughtie.