Lt. Maurice Raines has served Troup and Harris County for the last six years as post commander of the local Georgia State Patrol office in LaGrange, but he recently had an opportunity few in law enforcement receive.

Raines was nominated and accepted into the FBI National Academy, a 10-week program which provides coursework in intelligence theory, terrorism and terrorist mindsets, management science, law, behavioral science, law enforcement communication, and forensic science, according to the FBI website.

Only about 1 percent of law enforcement get to attend the academy, which speaks to how big of an honor his selection was.

When Raines returned, he was almost immediately promoted and given a new role within GSP, as he will now work with the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

Unfortunately, that means one of the leaders in law enforcement in this community will no longer be in LaGrange.

Raines will still make trips to Troup County in his new role — as well as every other corner of the state — but he will no longer be heading the local post for GSP.

We want to wish Raines good luck in his new role and thank him for his time serving our local community. He played a role in helping get the new GSP post built in LaGrange and led safety initiatives, such as making sure car seats were safely installed.

We’re sure he will excel at his next stop and make sure Georgia’s highways are safer for motorists.