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Published on Friday, July 23, 2004
in the Lakeland Ledger
LAKELAND -- After being declared a critical-needs area, Polk County will get four more Florida Highway Patrol troopers.
They will begin working from the Lakeland office Aug. 13.
"Everyone is very excited that they are coming," Trooper Larry Coggins said Thursday.
Currently, 35 troopers are assigned to Polk County, which except for the Polk Parkway, is part of Troop C.
Troop C also includes Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Sumter counties.
Lakeland District Capt. Linda Perkins said Polk is a criticalneeds area partly because of increasing crashes and fatalities on Interstate 4.
The speed limit on I-4 is 55 mph because of the ongoing widening construction project.
A major complaint of motorists and construction workers is that there are not enough troopers patrolling the road.
Perkins said the new troopers will be assigned throughout the county. Because of the additional manpower, he said, the agency will be able to better patrol I-4.
"They are a welcome addition because they are young and have a lot of good ideas," Perkins said.
"I hope they all decide to stay."
All of the new troopers are from the Central Florida area, but only one is from Polk County -Trooper Scott Stephens of Bartow. The patrol is trying to assign troopers closer to their homes in hopes they will want to stay.
Even when the new troopers arrive (making a district total of 39 positions), there still will be 10 vacancies, said district Capt. Linda Perkins.
In October, two more troopers will transfer to the district that includes the Polk Parkway.
The Parkway is a part of Troop K, which is paid for by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise. The 10 troopers assigned to the Parkway patrol that road only.
Even though the Lakeland district will remain shortstaffed, Perkins said she is grateful for the additional manpower.
"The troopers are just as glad to have them as I am," she said.
In addition to Stephens, 32, the new troopers assigned to Polk County are: Tony Allen, 46, Larry Maynard, 51, and James Tillett Jr., 23.