Geographically speaking, Lawrence County is huge.

More than 40 miles border the Ohio River and the county encompasses nearly 450 square miles.

Thursday, Lawrence County Sheriff Tim Sexton asked the county commission for its assistance in bridging the those miles and providing better law enforcement protection to the the eastern end of the county.

The commission agreed to allow Sexton to pursue a rental agreement with M and M Realty Co. for use of part of the former Oak Hill Bank building on State Route 7 just outside Proctorville.

Sexton said he hopes to have an eastern end substation operational within the next couple of months. The substation would be an office for deputies working in the eastern end of the county, a place where crime victims could be taken for assistance and witnesses and suspects could be taken for questioning. It would also allow deputies to spend more time in the eastern end without constantly driving back and forth between the eastern communities and Ironton to file reports in between calls.

"It's something I've been looking at for a couple of years," Sexton said. "This will allow us to have a more timely response to calls, more efficiency in response to calls and be more efficient in our scheduling."

Sexton said the office would not be open 24 hours a day but he would like to have office hours for services such as fingerprinting.

Sexton said he has discussed renting the three-room office space for $700 a month, including utilities. He would also need telephone service and office equipment such as computers and desks.

Sexton said the county had an eastern end substation several years ago when Dan Hieronimus was sheriff. It was a trailer at the Lawrence County fairgrounds. The trailer is no longer there.

Both commissioners who attended the Thursday meeting - Commissioner George Patterson was absent due to illness - expressed their approval of the idea. Commissioner Jason Stephens said the substation was "much needed." Commission President Doug Malone agreed, but said he would like more specific information about how Sexton planned to use the office.

"The townships could well use it," Malone said. "But I would like a specific plan on how many deputies and how long he wants to be open, and what he wants to do for people. We don't just need a presence, but service."