A good decision on country patrolment

By Staff
Feb. 9, 2003
Ultimately, Lauderdale County supervisors gauged the political winds and decided to put county patrolmen under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff's Department. This was a necessary transfer of positions, positions that Sheriff Billy Sollie can put to more effective use in local law enforcement.
We commend the three supervisors Craig Hitt of District 3, Joe Norwood of District 4 and Ray Boswell of District 5 whose votes represented a majority of the board on a split 3-to-2 decision. Jimmie Smith of District 2 and the retiring Hank Florey of District 1 opposed the move.
We have said and continue to believe that there are advantages in placing all county law enforcement activities under the sheriff, who after all is the county's chief law enforcement officer.
While we know there will be some transitional issues, we are confident that Sheriff Sollie will put the positions and equipment to work as quickly as possible in his department's continuing efforts to deal effectively with Lauderdale County's criminal element.