Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson, center, and county Commissioner Bebe Heiskell, right, uncover a portrait of former Sheriff Ralph H. Jones on Friday at the dedication of the Sheriff Ralph H. Jones Training Center. Family members from left are Nick Scott, grandson, Mary Jones, Sheriff Jones’ wife, and Patti Scott, daughter.What used to be an old fire rescue and City Hall building in LaFayette, Ga., is now the Sheriff Ralph H. Jones Training Center – named after the county’s longest-serving sheriff.
Since January the building at 12 Probasco St. has been used as a training facility by the Walker County Sheriff’s Office. It was spruced up in time for a dedication ceremony Friday afternoon to honor its new function as a training center, something the sheriff’s office didn’t have before.
“We used other facilities,” Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said. “We utilized some of the facilities at the state prison. We’ll still do firearm training at the state prison.”
Before becoming the training center, the building was used to store county rescue vehicles for several years until a new area opened last year. After that, the building went mostly unused for several months.
Wilson approached Walker County Commissioner Bebe Heiskell about incorporating the vacant building into the sheriff’s office.