By EASON FRANKLIN
The Lowndes Signal

The citizens of Ft. Deposit will see a new police chief patrolling the community and appearing before the town council in the near future.

Current Ft. Deposit Police Chief Chris West has accepted a position at the Clarke County Sheriff’s Department in Grove Hill as Chief Deputy.

“Ray Norris said he was looking for a chief deputy and told me what he wanted to do for the sheriff’s department and the county and asked if I would be interested in helping him,” said West. “I said yeah.”

West said he and Norris share a lot of similar ideas and think along the same lines.

“It sounded like he had some good ideas,” said West. “He is a progressive thinker and is looking for progression in the county. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to help him with that growth.”

West is currently administering grants for the town of Ft. Deposit and Lowndes County that will extend past his transition to Clarke County.

“There are a couple of grants that I wrote for Ft. Deposit. I will continue to administer those grants,” West said. “There are others with the Sheriff’s Department. I will continue to administer those as well.”

The town of Ft. Deposit has received no official letter of resignation from West as no official date for West’s departure has set.

“Sheriff Norris takes over January 18,” said West. “I am not sure exactly of my last day, but I am guessing it will be somewhere around the first of February.”

West said he may eventually move from Ft. Deposit, but will be looking at transportation alternatives in the meantime. West has served nearly 20 years in law enforcement.