WCSO opens new Walnut Grove precinct on WGHS campus

When the Walton County Sheriff’s Office needed a new office space in the Walnut Grove area, they didn’t have to look far.

Why not, everyone decided, open it right next to the biggest building in the city already: Walnut Grove High School.

On Sept. 19, the WCSO celebrated the new precinct with help from the Walton County School District and others, cutting the ribbon on the new space before a celebratory crowd

The WCSO had previously held office space for a Walnut Grove precinct in the former American Red Cross office at the corner of Highways 81 and 138, but once that building was torn down to make way for the new roundabout being built at that intersection, the new office started to take shape.

“This is a good day to live in Walton County,” Sheriff Keith Brooks said. “We’re fortunate to live in a community that loves one another and cares for one another. It’s important for us to be here now. Protecting the kids is what it’s all about.”

Brooks said it was hardly his doing alone.

“Putting this precinct here was not my doing,” Brooks said. “It’s a collaborative effort between the Walton County Sheriff ’s Office, the school system and the county. Ultimately, it belongs to this community.”

Chip Underwood, superintendent of the Walton County School District, said he was thrilled to have the law enforcement presence right next to the system’s second biggest high school.

“The most important thing we do every day is send your kids home safe and this makes that possible,” Underwood said. “Our sheriff ’s office supports us 24-7, and with this in place, every kid in Walton County is safer.”
Walton County

Chairman David Thompson also spoke at the event, saying the new precinct was testament to his support for local law enforcement and his commitment to help them thrive.

“As long as I’m in office, we will take care of them,” Thompson said. “I think this precinct is a great idea.”

Brooks said the new space would be there to serve the public as an extension of their central mission.

“The Walton County Sheriff ’s Office belongs to the people,” Brooks said.