WATONGA – At their weekly meeting Monday, the Blaine County commissioners approved a plan from Sheriff Travis Daugherty to embed a deputy with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.
Deputy Monty Goodwin will receive extensive counter-narcotics training during his stint with the OBN, Daugherty told the commissioners, though it will mean one less deputy in Blaine County for the time being. He will be part of a special anti-heroin task force, Daugherty said.
Blaine County will get a percentage of any large-scale drug busts in the county for participating in the program, he added. Daugherty said fentanyl, a focus of the task force, is “affecting our surrounding counties pretty bad right now.”
“Weatherford had a kid, that graduated high school last year, who died of fentanyl not too long ago,” he said. “There’s so many unknowns about it, and everybody I’ve talked to said if you don’t have it, get ready for it. Because they’re buying it by the pound in other counties, from dealers.”
Goodwin would work on anti-fentanyl operations across the state, Daugherty said, and could be recalled to the sheriff’s office at any time if needed.
“I feel like it would be a good thing to do on our part,” Daugherty said, “to try to stop that before it gets here.”
The commissioners agreed, but worried that Goodwin might leave the department after receiving the training, negating the county’s investment. They said they would approve the assignment if Goodwin signs a contract agreeing to stay in Blaine County for a time.
“I don’t see him going anywhere,” Daugherty said. “I feel like this is just added training for him that will make him a better narcotics investigator for Blaine County.”
Goodwin will have to fill out an application and pass a background check before moving to OBN. Other counties have contributed deputies to serve on various OBN task forces, Daugherty said, and assisting counties will receive top priority from the OBN for future counter-narcotics operations.