The Logan County Sheriff’s Department will now be patrolling Lake Malone alongside of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Sheriff Wallace Whittaker asked for fiscal court approval Tuesday to accept a free boat donated to the department from Jefferson County to be used to patrol the 788-acre reservoir.

Whittaker said there has been an increase in theft at the lake. Things are being taken off of boats that are docked.

“There is only one Fish and Wildlife boat currently at the lake and Whittaker says it’s not enough to cover such a large area.

The boat donated recently underwent a renovation and is good to go.

Lake Malone dips into Logan, Muhlenberg and Todd counties. The sheriff says all three counties have an inter-local and mutual-aid agreement with one another that allows for the sheriff’s department to have jurisdiction on the whole lake.

“We are not going to be down there all the time,” said Wallace, adding they will have a presence however.

Any deputy that patrols the lake will receive the proper training necessary to operate a boat safely, said Whittaker, who hopes this will not only help out the state, but make the lake a more secure location for many Logan Countians who have boats or property on the water.

Members of the fiscal court approved Whittaker’s desire to take on the boat and his idea of patrolling the waters of the lake.

Lake Malone is located on Kentucky Highway 973, off U.S. Highway 431 and is considered to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the commonwealth. The striking views of sandstone cliffs such as Bear Bluff and Chalk Bluff rising above the water and thick wooded 26-mile shoreline are impressive. The park also has a natural rock bridge. Efforts to create a state park at Lake Malone began in 1959.