AHOSKIE – There are three fresh faces in the local office of the North Carolina Highway Patrol.

Troopers B.R. Baker, C.W. Godwin and W.S. Skinner joined Troop A District II last week and will be on hand to aide citizens of Bertie, Gates and Hertford counties.

First Sergeant K.P. Pitts said this district has been understaffed for a long time and that the addition of three new officers and the return of one, who has been stationed in Iraq, will get the Ahoskie office to within one officer of full staff.

“That was one of my concerns when I first arrived,” Sgt. Pitts said. “Sometimes our response time was lengthy because of our lack of personnel. We will be able to do much better once these guys are trained.”

The first order of business for the new troopers will be to join the First Sergeant’s crusade to lower the amount of collisions in the district. It has been his top priority since arriving in District II nearly one year ago.

“Hopefully, this will further reduce collisions and, in so doing, save lives and prevent injuries,” Sgt. Pitts insisted.

Two of the new officers are from Randolph County, a place where Sgt. Pitts was stationed, and one comes from Columbus County.

“From all I’ve seen so far, these guys are eager and ready to go,” he said. “They’ve been through 29 weeks of training. Their training is some of the best provided in the state of North Carolina to any law enforcement officer.”

Trooper C.W. Godwin comes to Troop A District II from Columbus County. He was a farmer before joining the North Carolina Highway Patrol.

“Joining the North Carolina Highway Patrol offered me the chance to have a good job helping people,” he said. “They look out for you and you have the chance to look out for others.”

He said he looks forward to working in the rural setting provided by the counties in the district.

Coming from Asheboro, where he was a full-time firefighter, Trooper B.R. Baker was attracted to the NCHP because of their professionalism.

“I like the image of professionalism from the North Carolina Highway Patrol,” Trooper Baker said. “The highway patrol has always received a lot of respect from the citizens of North Carolina.”

Baker said he liked the region and was looking forward to being in the district.

“I like it here,” he said. “I like the land up here. This is more my personality. I like to be outdoors and hunt and fish.”

Trooper W.S. Skinner comes to District II from Level Cross in Randolph County. He was a Detention Officer with the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department before coming to the NCHP.

“It’s a good career to work with,” Trooper Skinner said of his new career.

He also said he was excited about coming to the northeastern part of the state.

“The people here are nice,” he said. “It’s a good community to live in and work in.”