A longtime school resource officer was promoted to the rank of sergeant at Tuesday morning’s meeting of the Dalton Public Safety Commission. Bart Chandler, who has been assigned as the school resource officer (SRO) for Dalton High School since May 2015, was approved for promotion by a unanimous vote of the commission.
Sergeant Chandler is a U.S.Army veteran, serving from 1999 until 2004.
He joined the Dalton Police Department in March 2013, serving as an officer on patrol until moving to the SRO role in 2015. In his new role as sergeant, he will supervise the police department’s other SROs. Once a newly-created SRO position is filled, the DPD will have six SROs under his supervision.
Sergeant Chandler is a 1998 graduate of Northwest Whitfield and a 2019 graduate of Thomas University.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, Dalton Fire Chief Todd Pangle thanked the Dalton Public Works Department for their hard work on a project at the DFD’s Station One. Chief Pangle presented a plaque to Public Works director Andrew Parker.
The project recently completed by Dalton Public Works included the construction of a new sidewalk and retaining wall on the southside of Station One’s parking lot near School Street. The work fixed a storm drainage issue off of a hillside that was washing into the parking lot and clogging storm drains. Public Works was able to design the best solution and complete the project.
Chief Pangle noted that in addition to the recently completed work at Station One, Public Works has always been a willing partner whenever the Fire Department has called on them for assistance.
“This is just one example of the many things they have assisted us with, all the while still taking care of their responsibilities city wide,” said Chief Pangle. “It is because of all this that we presented the plaque as a small token of our appreciation.”
The Dalton Public Safety Commission is comprised of Chairman William B. Weaver, Terry Mathis, Anthony Walker, Keith Whitworth, and Kenneth E. Willis.