Hogansville to sell police K9

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Matthew Strother

mstrother@civitasmedia.com

Hogansville City Hall.

http://lagrangenews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2016/02/web1_STOCK-Hogansville.jpgHogansville City Hall.

File photo

HOGANSVILLE — The Hogansville Police Department will sell its only K9 after losing its second handler within a year.

Chief Brian Harr told the City Council on Monday that the dog, Kasha, is currently without a handler after the officer left for another agency. The dog has since been housed at the Troup County Sheriff’s Office.

Training an officer to be a K9 handler costs about $6,000 to $8,000, the chief said. Ongoing costs for the dog and new federal restriction on drug search and seizure also don’t make the city’s use of a drug-detecting K9 viable, Harr added.

A former handler for the K9 has shown interest in purchasing the dog, Harr said, with a price tag of $2,500. He said the buyer intends to make the K9 a family pet and felt selling the dog is the best option for the city.

He asked council members on Monday to approve the move to sell the K9, which they did unanimously.

In other business, council:

• Approved applying for a historic preservation grant for $10,000 from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Historic Preservation Division. The city is obligated to pay 40 percent — $4,000 — of the grant amount, but Mayor Bill Stankiewicz said the Hogansville Charitable Trust has agreed to put up the cash to cover the city’s share.

The grant will be used to survey and identify historic places in the city. The last survey was conducted in 1991, according to the grant application documents. The previous survey also didn’t include the turn of the century mill village areas of the city.

• Approved a resolution to adopt its comprehensive plan after the plan was approved by the Department of Community Affairs. The comprehensive plan outlines potential needs and projects for the next 20 years.

• Voted to appoint City Manager James Woods as representative to the Electric Cities of Georgia board.

Matthew Strother is the editor of LaGrange Daily News. He may be reached at 706-884-7311, ext. 2153.