Volunteer force could aid police

HILLSVILLE — Carroll Sheriff J.B. Gardner could form a reserve force of volunteer law enforcement officers to help out, pending proper insurance coverage.
Gardner sought permission from the Carroll Board of Supervisors for a volunteer law enforcement initiative at their Sept. 10 meeting.
The supervisors gave the effort their go-ahead with no additional comments. The approval is contingent on the availability of insurance.
This would benefit both Carroll County and certain individuals that have their law enforcement certifications, Gardner said.
That group could include veteran officers who have retired or those who have graduated from the police academy but haven’t found a job, Gardner said. Without putting their certifications to use in some capacity, those could expire in two years.
Veteran officers bring with them a lot of knowledge and experience, and the sheriff’s office could benefit from that, if retirees wanted to remain active as a volunteer.
Gardner could think of a range of activities that he would like to use these volunteers for.
“You can always use more people,” he noted. “You can always use somebody extra at the flea market or the fiddlers’ convention.”
The sheriff envisions volunteers working on cold cases, or asking them to help during emergencies.
In terms of  younger officers who put themselves through the academy, it could also give the sheriff’s office a pool of candidates to hire from.
It also has the benefit of being inexpensive.
“Some of them just want to work,” Gardner said.

In other action, the Carroll County Board of Supervisors:
• approved the idea of taking public comments Oct. 8 on a proposed ordinance requiring offenders to cover the expenses of cleaning up meth labs, according to information from the county.
Supervisors approved holding a public hearing at their October meeting at 5:30 p.m.
County officials are considering an ordinance making anyone convicted of manufacturing meth in Carroll liable “for the expense in cleaning up any methamphetamine lab,” the proposal said.
Galax has already approved a similar ordinance.

• approved a request from the Twin County Airport Commission to support an airport terminal construction project.
County documents note that the budget impact of the move will be to continue providing the airport with $8,000 a year, an amount that had been previously approved.