Georgia State Patrol Post 52 Officially Dedicated
Photo Courtesy: Sgt Al Whitworth
Hundreds gathered Friday to celebrate the official opening of the new Hartwell Georgia State Patrol Post.
Post 52 opened in early January, but the actual ribbon cutting and open house took place on Friday afternoon.
Local and state officials, including Governor Nathan Deal and State Representative Alan Powell were on hand to welcome Post Commander Sgt Al Whitworth and his 14 State Troopers to the new Post.
Whitworth credits the opening of the new post to the Governor’s commitment to public safety.
“The Governor actually put the funds in for the equipment and personnel,” Whitworth said. “That’s a $1.2 million investment from the State budget that he put in. And that’s not a one-year thing. That continues every year from here on out. That’s a big investment in Franklin, Hart and Elbert counties and we really appreciate it. We really appreciated the Governor and his wife being here.”
Photo Courtesy: Sgt. Al Whitworth
As Post 52 comes to the end of its first quarter, Whitworth said the post is making an impact on motorist and traffic safety.
“We started our operations January 1st. I’m proud of the guys here. Right now, the Post in Hartwell has actually made more DUI arrests excluding the Night Hawk Unit in Atlanta than any other posts in Georgia,” he said. “Since January, we’ve made 120 DUI arrests and we’ve investigated over 350 accidents.”
Whitworth said having the new Post means extra patrols in the Franklin, Hart, and Elbert county area and he said it is making an impact with people in the community.
“Particularly in Elbert County, we’ve been able to have a bigger impact there,” he said. “In this Post we cover three counties so having 14 people for the three counties we’re able to offer a bigger presence.”
The GSP Hartwell Post is located just off SR77 near I-85 at the 177 Exit.