Pickens County first responder reacts to high fuel prices

PICKENS COUNTY – Sky high gas prices are fueling problems for people everywhere, including local first responders.

“That is a problem you know,” Pickens County Sheriff Todd Hall said. “We do hope they will recover. How quickly that will happen I have no idea when that will happen. We have to maintain a certain degree of readiness with our fleet, so whatever the cost is we are going to have to find ways to meet it.”

The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office has 10 deputies. Each deputy drives at least 150 miles in their patrol vehicles each day. Funds for these units’ fuel and maintenance come from the pockets of taxpayers.

“Taxpayers are having to pay for the fuel, oil changes, tires and maintenance,” Hall said. “All of that has been affected by the fuel prices.”

Sheriff Hall wants to assure people that no matter how high pump prices climb protecting people in Pickens County will remain his top priority.

“We do have take-home cars for our full-time deputies,” Hall said. “That helps because they are ready to go to work when they step out of their house.  It cuts down on response time too. We want to assure people that our number one priority to keep our citizens protected. That requires that we be proactive and have those patrols out there. Fuel prices have affected us, but they’re not going to affect that. We are going to make sure we are out there; we are doing our work and if people need us, we want them to call us. We are on the way.”