NATCHEZ — A $45,300 rural development grant will help purchase four new cars for the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, officials said.

Sheriff Travis Patten said the Adams County Board of Supervisors agreed to purchase four cars per year for the sheriff’s office.

The Rural Development Community Facilities Economic Impact Initiative Grant, Patten said, will cover the cost of approximately one and a half of the new Dodge Durango SUVs.

“With us receiving the $45,300, this will knock a nice chunk out of it,” Patten said.

Patten said everyday patrols cover rough roads and put high mileage on vehicles.

Patten said some of the cars retired from the sheriff’s office this year had 300,000 miles or more.

“We put a lot of miles on them,” Patten said. “It can average 200 to 250 miles a day on a vehicle. Running it like that can be tough on it.”

Patten said the office lost two vehicles due to accidents and the vehicles could not be replaced this year.

Patten said Lynette Smith of Southwest Mississippi Planning and Development was instrumental in securing the grant, a process that began in 2016.

“I don’t know when the last time was anybody in the sheriff’s office sought to get a grant for vehicles,” Patten said. “We originally put in for more for this, but it went back and forth until we got it.”