Calhoun Police Department Awarded More Than $82,000 in Traffic Safety Grants

The City of Calhoun Police Department has received two major traffic safety grants totaling more than $82,000 from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS). The funding will support ongoing efforts to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities on local and regional roads.

The department was awarded $33,097.44 for its role as the coordinating agency for the TEN Mountain Area Traffic Enforcement Network, which includes law enforcement agencies across 10 Northwest Georgia counties — Dade, Whitfield, Catoosa, Walker, Murray, Chattooga, Gordon, Floyd, Bartow, and Polk. Calhoun Police also received an additional $49,299.60 High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) grant to strengthen traffic enforcement and public education initiatives.

Both grants are funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through GOHS and are part of statewide efforts to curb impaired driving, speeding, and other risky behaviors.

“With the increase in the number of persons killed in traffic crashes in Georgia and across the nation over the last year, the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is working with partners like the Calhoun Police Department to stop the risky driving behaviors that contribute to most serious-injury and fatal crashes,” said Allen Poole, Director of GOHS. “Many of these fatal crashes are preventable, and we will continue to work toward our goal of zero traffic deaths.”

As part of the TEN Mountain Area Network, Calhoun Police will coordinate year-round high-visibility patrols, sobriety checkpoints, and multi-jurisdictional road checks in campaigns such as Click It or Ticket, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, and 100 Days of Summer HEAT.

Calhoun Police Chief Tony Pyle said the grants reflect his department’s ongoing commitment to public safety.

“Our traffic enforcement officers are diligent in keeping Calhoun and Gordon County’s streets safe for motorists and pedestrians,” Pyle said. “These grants will help us continue those lifesaving efforts.”

For more information about the Calhoun Police Department’s programs, contact Captain Christy Nicholson at 706-629-1234 or [email protected]. More details about state traffic safety initiatives are available at www.gahighwaysafety.org.

The grants will remain active through September 2026.