Grant County Sheriff hiring new detective

EPHRATA - The Grant County Sheriff's Office is hiring a fourth major crimes detective for the first time in nearly 30 years.

The Grant County commissioners approved a $15,450 budget extension for the sheriff's office. The extension is paying for two months of wages and benefits for a fourth person for its major crimes unit.

The major crimes detectives investigate homicides, suicides, suspicious deaths as well as assaults, armed robberies, sexual assaults, kidnapping and financial crimes, according to employees of the sheriff's office.

"As you folks know, and I've explained to the commissioners before, we've been running with the same amount of major crimes detectives since 1985," Jones said.

Jones said previously the sheriff's office plans to budget for the $90,000 to $100,000 position next year.

The office needs to go through a civil service process to hire the detective. Jones plans to have the appointment made by the end of the month and the person starting on Nov. 1.

- Staff report