Barre awarded federal grant to combat drugs

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Barre City Police has won a $282,000 federal grant to battle drugs.

The grant was announced during a visit by Congressman Peter Welch on Monday. The money will be used to possibly set up a drug enforcement team in central Vermont, a mountain bike patrol in Barre and Montpelier, and for a drug sniffing dog.

Barre City Police Chief Timothy Bombardier said the funding will also likely cover overtime pay for officers and drug education.

Bombardier said the department was awarded the grant after he talked with Welch during a visit about eight months ago. He said he wrote to Welch detailing how the money could be used.

Welch says the grant comes at a time when funding for it and a grant that funds the Vermont Drug Task Force is facing a 60 percent cut this year.

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