GOVERNOR Perdue HONORS
THE west georgia drug task force

(Left to Right) Assistant Director Chris Ash, Georgia Bureau of Investigation; Executive Director L. Gale Buckner, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council; Sheriff Ross Henry, Heard County; State Representative Chuck Harper, District 88, Post 2; State Representative Mark Butler, District 88, Post 1; Sheriff Steve Whitlock, Meriwether County; Chief Barry Carroll, Carrollton Police Department; Sheriff Terry Langley, Carroll County; Governor Sonny Perdue; Deputy Director Kent Wilson, Georgia Bureau of Investigation; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Chris Tolbert, Commander, West Georgia Drug Task Force; Inspector Don Robertson, Georgia Bureau of Investigation; Chief Ned Watson, Villa Rica Police Department; Inspector Lee Sweat, Georgia Bureau of Investigation; Tom Mackel, State University of West Georgia Department of Public Safety; State Senator Dan Lee, District 29; State Senator Bill Hamrick, District 30. 

In a special ceremony this morning at the State Capitol, Governor Sonny Perdue spotlighted a grant to the City of Carrollton for the West Georgia Drug Task Force in the amount of $353,000.  The West Georgia Drug Task Force (DTF) is a multi-jurisdictional drug task force that focuses on enforcing anti-drug laws. 

The West Georgia DTF is based in the City of Carrollton and serves Carroll, Heard and Meriwether counties and the Cities of Carrollton, Bowdon, Villa Rica and the State University of West Georgia.  During FY2003, the West Georgia DTF arrested 249 persons and seized more than $2 million in illegal drugs. 

Governor Perdue said, in recognizing the accomplishments of the West Georgia DTF “Illegal drugs such as methamphetamine have a devastating effect on our society.  Specialized multi-jurisdictional drug task forces like the West Georgia Drug Task Force are a vital component of our criminal justice system.” 

The award is part of the State of Georgia’s allocation from the 2003 Edward Byrne Memorial Drug Control and System Improvement Formula Grant Program.  The purpose of the Byrne Grant Program is to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system with emphasis on violent crimes and serious offenders and to enforce state and local laws. The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) administers the Byrne Grant Program in Georgia. 

CJCC Executive Director Gale Buckner said, “The Byrne Grant Program provides vital support to local criminal justice initiatives such as the West Georgia DTF throughout Georgia.”

The federal government awards the grant to CJCC on behalf of the State of Georgia for distribution to state agencies and local units of government.  All recipients must apply under one of twenty-nine (29) purpose areas, which range in scope from a project pertaining to drug education and prevention to drug task forces. In addition, the grant program fosters a level of community involvement by requiring a 25% cash match of each applicant.

The Staff at the
West Georgia Drug Task Force