The Highland County Sheriff’s Office has a received a grant that’s already being used to combat the drug problem in the county, Sheriff Donnie Barrera said Friday.

The $7,000 grant came from Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services and will be used solely to investigate, detect and prosecute drug-related crimes in Highland County, according to Barrera.

“Because of this grant, we will be able to use additional man hours to help fight the war on drugs that Highland County currently faces,” Barrera said.

“It helps pay for overtime for officers when they are working extra hours on a drug case, and helps a little bit with the county’s expenses,” Barrera added. “Anytime one of our officers is working on a drug case and has to work overtime on it, that’s what they’re getting paid out of.”

The sheriff said his office received the grant money in February and has been using the funds since then.

Deputy Dave Bushelman originally started working on the grant, Barrera said, then deputy Ryan Miller and Bushelman worked together filing the paperwork. The sheriff said he would like to thank the two deputies publicly for their efforts in procurement and implementation of the grant.

For more information, contact Barrera at 937-393-1421.

Reach Jeff Gilliland at 937-402-2522 or on Twitter @13gillilandj.