The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

May 8, 2009

Rhodell PD ineligible for grants

By Michelle James

Rhodell is likely to lose two of its three police officers as it, along with 24 other police agencies across the country, has been barred from seeking new federal stimulus grants because of its failure to meet past grant requirements.

Recorder/clerk Patricia Fortner said she became aware of the ban in April when she attempted to file a request for the grant.

“We haven’t been able to keep up with some of our IBR reports,” Fortner said, explaining officers are required to complete the reports, which pertain to the calls to which they respond, on a daily basis.

Currently, Rhodell’s police force consists of three part-time officers.

Fortner said it was the hope of town officials to obtain about $250,000 in grant funding, which would have allowed them to promote those officers to full-time, paying them for the next three years.

Because of the ban, however, Fortner said the town will now likely lose two of the three officers within the next two months.

“We can’t afford to pay them,” she said, adding the officers are already working heavy loads since they have second jobs to supplement their incomes.

Fortner said the town has made attempts to comply with grant requirements, but has been unable to do so because the reporting program it previously used is out of date.

“It’s a matter of money,” she said. “If we had the money, we would be more than glad to get everything taken care of, but we’re going to need a computer and new software program.”

The only possible solution, and one Fortner said she plans to look into, is if the State Police allows the town to piggyback off its reporting system.

Even if that pans out, however, that will not help Rhodell in two months when it loses two-thirds of its police protection.

“We have a lot of crime in the town,” Fortner said. “It’s a small town, but that doesn’t mean crime doesn’t take place. We have a drug problem and I look for crime to go up if we only have one part-time officer and the drugs take over down here.”

— E-mail: mjames@register-herald.com

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