In a year when the former police chief pleaded guilty to theft, the mayor resigned and a new mayor was elected, Varnell Police Chief Lyle Grant said his department “kept plugging along.”

That effort led to the police department’s recognition as the Agency of the Year at Thursday night’s meeting of the Mountain Area Traffic Enforcement Network (MATEN II) in Fort Oglethorpe. The network is comprised of 49 law enforcement agencies in Northwest Georgia.

“Despite all the turmoil, they still maintained their dedication to the safety and welfare of all the people who traveled the roads in Varnell,” said Lt. Gary McConathy of the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department, the regional coordinator for MATEN II. “It would have been easy for them to have rolled over and died but Chief Grant kept going and kept a professional image.”

Former Varnell police chief Tim Henderson was arrested on theft charges in January. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge last week and received 12 months of probation. Former mayor Lindsey Metcalf stepped down earlier this year, while Dan Peeples was elected mayor last week.

Lt. Scott Casey began working for the police department in June 2007 and has seen the department grow through the tough times.

“(Chief Grant) brought a sense of pride back to the Varnell Police Department,” Casey said.

Grant gave the credit to his 10 officers.

“It wasn’t anything I did,” he said. “They did it by getting out there and keeping a professional attitude and I am proud of them.”

At the meeting Thursday, Grant was presented a laser that is used to check drivers’ speeds. Grant decided to donate the laser to the Cohutta Police Department, which currently only has two radar devices.

“The more Chief (Ray) Grossman can do up there, it will affect us down south,” Grant said. “Grossman has a reputation of getting out here and enforcing the traffic laws and it helps us. That’s what it boils down to — keeping the roads safer.”

Grossman said the lasers make it easier to pinpoint which car is speeding.

“You get a good individual reading,” Grossman said. “It is much more efficient.”

The gift was a continuation of the good relationship between the Varnell and Cohutta police departments, Grossman said.

“We are neighbors here,” he said. “We back each other up on calls. At times the traffic on Highway 71 is pretty high. What we do affects what they do down there.”