By Kelly Morgan,Staff Writer

PARIS – Six new patrol cars will soon be on the road for the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office.

At a Feb. 15 meeting, the Oxford County commissioners accepted a bid price of $105,569 for the vehicles from Ripley & Fletcher Co., Paris.

“Jeez, we’re going to have to hide when we get out of here,” Chairman Steve Merrill joked. “How’d we get to six?”

Chief Deputy Jim Davis explained that the department usually trades in four cars each year.

This year, only three will be traded, but the additional cars will be purchased for three new deputies to be hired July 1.

The deputies’ salaries were approved during the county’s budget deliberations, which ended in December. A $186,492 request from the Sheriff’s Office to hire the patrol was cut to $62,000 by the Oxford County Budget Committee. It was decided that the deputies would be hired on or after July 1, so the county would only have to cover the new salaries for half the fiscal year.

The county commissioners on Feb. 15 considered holding off on the purchase of the vehicles as well, but changed their minds after learning it would take six to eight weeks for the new cars to arrive.

Ripley & Fletcher won the contract over four other bidders.