The past 48 hours have been tense for those living in the path of Hurricane Hermine. The category 1 hurricane hit the Florida coast Thursday night and swept through the panhandle up into Georgia.

The National Weather Service predicted heavy rain and high winds in Decatur County, and the community prepared for the worst. But the group that deserves the most recognition for their work in preparing for the storm is local law enforcement.

The Decatur County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Wiley Griffin gave constant updates on the storm and made themselves available around the clock in case disaster struck. They even went so far as to post lists of deputies, their shift times and their cell phone numbers, making themselves as available as possible throughout Thursday night.

The round of applause also goes to Decatur County Superintendent Tim Cochran and the extra manpower the school system resources officers offered during the night.

As always, Bainbridge Public Safety and Georgia State Patrol did a fantastic job of keeping the community safe.

It’s reassuring to know that our law enforcement in the Bainbridge-Decatur County community work hard to keep us safe, whether potential disaster strikes or not.