Year in Review: New Hartwell GSP Opened in January

As we head into the Christmas and New Year’s holiday and look towards a new year, we want to being taking a look back at some of the top stories of 2015.

2015 began in Franklin and Hart Counties with the opening of the new Georgia State Patrol Post in Hart County.

The new GSP Post located in the Gateway II Industrial Park off Hwy 77, opened in early January, but was not officially dedicated until the end of March.

Post Commander Sgt. Al Whitworth credited the construction and opening of the new post to the Governor Nathan Deal’ss 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.”

As Post 52 comes to the end of its year, 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. In the first quarter this year, the Post in Hartwell actually made more DUI arrests excluding, the Night Hawk Unit in Atlanta, than any other posts in Georgia,” he said.

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.”

In August, the Hartwell Post added seven new troopers to their company of 14 original troopers.