BUCKHANNON – The Upshur County Sheriff’s Office has established a satellite office in the Rock Cave area.

Upshur County Sheriff Mike Coffman said the department’s new office is housed in the Banks District Volunteer Fire Department and can be used now.

“We’ve been talking about establishing an office there for a while, and the [fire department] chief offered his space for the office, so we thought it would be a win-win for both us and southern Upshur County,” Coffman said.

“We can keep government supplies and a computer there, and when we’re conducting investigations, we can interview somebody or meet somebody there, as opposed to the courthouse, which is far for people at that end of the county,” the sheriff added. “I think it will be more convenient to have a place to stop in when we’re in that part of the county.”

The office will not be staffed regularly, so community members should still go to the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office in the Upshur County Courthouse.

“We can’t staff it 24/7, but we try very hard to put a deputy in different areas of the county during busier times, like the first day of school and trick-or-treat,” Coffman said. “This will give us a place to use a phone, make a copy, meet with somebody or pick up supplies without running all the way back to town or go to a store to buy it.”

The office features a sign signaling its location, telling people to call 911 in an emergency, and advising that the office is not consistently staffed.

“We’ve taken the computer that’s programmed from the courthouse, and we can print and do everything — including filling out criminal complaints — right there from that office,” Coffman said. “This gives the officers another place to be able to go and do work or stop off for a minute.”

Director of Banks District EMS John Roby approached the sheriff’s department about establishing the office in Rock Cave.

“They had an office that locks, and all of our officers have the code to get in the door. and it’s a secure office,” Coffman said. “I thought it would be a good idea to try it, and I can only see positives coming out of it.”