Jefferson County Sheriff Tony Hernandez is the 2010 chairman of the multijurisdictional Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team.
Sequim Police Chief Bob Spinks was elected vice chairman at the meeting on Feb. 17, said Ron Cameron, OPNET spokesperson.
Hernandez takes over for Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict, who served for two years, Cameron said.
“Sheriff Tony Hernandez is the first Jefferson County law enforcement head to be chairman of the OPNET program,” Cameron said.
OPNET targets major drug dealers, suppliers or manufacturers of illegal substances that are operating in the North Olympic Peninsula, Cameron said.
It is made up of detectives and investigators from both the Clallam and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Sequim and Port Angeles police departments, the State Patrol and the U.S. Border Patrol.
Other area agencies from state, local, tribal and federal departments participate as well when needed, Cameron said.
The program is directed by a board made up of agency heads from these departments, as well as prosecutors from Clallam and Jefferson counties, he added.
Benedict had taken over for Spinks after the Sequim chief was diagnosed with a noncancerous brain tumor in 2008, Cameron said.
Spinks under went surgery to remove the tumor and returned to work in early 2009.
The organization now known as OPNET began as the Clallam County Drug Task Force about 20 years ago, Cameron said.
The unit began working regularly in Jefferson County in 2000, and changed its name to reflect its work in two counties.