photo by: Joselyn King

The Ohio County Sheriff’s Office introduced its new K-9 officer Kronos to county commissioners Tuesday.

Ohio County commissioners got an introduction to the county’s newest deputy — K-9 officer Kronos — at its meeting Tuesday night.

Kronos captured both attention and his red ball as he was led into the second floor courtroom at the City-County Building by his handler, Deputy Kile Dailey. The German shepherd arrived from Germany in early March, and is now 20 months old. He has been on patrol for five days.

The dog seemed like a young toddler as he attempted to contain his energy within the setting.

“He still has another year left in him to fully mature, so he is still very much a puppy,” Dailey told commissioners.

Kronos lives at his home with Dailey, and has an open-air kennel in the basement. The pair did eight weeks of initial training at a facility in Norwich, Ohio. He does narcotics sniffs, apprehensions, car searches and building searches.

“He is a big asset to the department, and I’m very grateful to be able to handle him,” Dailey said.

Kronos will join the sheriff’s office K-9 Zoro, who is almost 10 years old and approaching retirement.

Commissioners approved the purchase of Kronos in January at a cost of $18,000, and he was paid for with opioid settlement money received by the state and directed to Ohio County.

In other matters regarding the sheriff’s department, commissioners approved the purchase of a “True Narc System” portable drug analyzer for use by deputies. The cost for the system with a five-year warranty is $37,762, plus an additional $742 for heroin testing accessories.

The sheriff’s department will also be getting body cameras following a year and a half of discussion.

In October 2023, the Ohio County Sheriff’s Department received a federal SRT Body Worn Camera Grant through the U.S. Bureau of Justice, and that the grant would pay a maximum of $2,000 per camera. The department had applied to receive the maximum $60,000 for 30 cameras.

The commissioners did not approve the purchase after learning the county would incur a cost of $12,000 annually to pay for cloud storage.

Sheriff Nelson Croft said Monday he included the $12,000 price tag within the budget he submitted for next year. He justified the expense after explaining the department’s new drug dog was paid for with opioid money, and that new guns were purchased with drug seizure money. Old guns are going to be sold, and that money returned to the department, Croft continued.

“As we’ve stated before, (spending) $12,000 now is a lot cheaper than paying (attorneys) if there is ever a civil suit filed against the department, or a complaint filed against a deputy,” he said.

Commissioners told Croft that since they already approved his budget for next year, that request was already sanctioned and the cameras could be ordered.

Personnel matters were also approved during the meeting. Commissioners passed a motion to appoint current dog wardens Wendy Neubauer and Eric Murphy as humane officers. Also, David Campbell was hired there as a full-time manager-in-training.

Emmalye Cole and Sarah Potter were hired as temporary animal care technicians at the animal shelter. Shay Davis and Jeremiah Ratcliffe were approved as temporary groundskeepers and service line technicians at the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport, and Julianne Latynski was hired as a full-time urban-ecosystem manager with the commission and the West Virginia University Extension Office.

The commission met in the second floor courtroom at the City-County Building as construction continues in their office and others on the other end of the second floor.

The commissioners will next meet at 6 p.m. on May 20 at a location to be determined.