NC Highway Patrol working has almost 150 vacancies

WILSON, NC (AP) — The North Carolina State Highway Patrol has almost 150 vacancies for troopers and the agency says it has to recruit to find qualified applicants.

The Wilson Times reports that nearly 40 of the existing vacancies are in Troop C, the region that includes Wilson, Wake and 12 other counties in the eastern part of the state. The newspaper reports the troop also gets the most calls.

Patrol spokesman Sgt. Michael Baker says there are 54 cadets now enrolled in trooper school and if all graduate the number of vacancies statewide will be below 100.

He says with competition in finding qualified applicants, the patrol uses recruiters who visit schools, community events and fairs.

In all, there are more than 1,600 troopers who patrol 78,000 miles of road statewide.

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