Pulaski Sheriff's Department gets grant for helicopter

Local News

March 1, 2009

By HEATHER PYLES, CJ Staff Writer

The funding for a grant approved last year by lawmakers that will help the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department update its communications system on its helicopter has come through.

The $50,000 grant, approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, was first approved in 2008, but the funds weren’t released until recently.

“This is the final product of that,” said Pulaski County Sheriff Todd Wood, who also announced the grant Friday at the Lincoln Club banquet.

The grant will allow the sheriff’s department to install an updated communications system that will make communication between those on Air One and units on the ground much easier. Wood said the old system makes it difficult for those aboard Air One to communicate with the sheriff’s department’s own, and communication with other agencies is impossible.

“We couldn’t communicate with any ground units and certainly not with any out-of-county units,” Wood said.

A new aviation system will also be installed, which will make it easier for the pilot to stay up-to-date on the helicopter’s location.

“It will be safer in the air,” Wood said.

Air One, an OH58, which is around 36 years old, was acquired while former sheriff Sam Catron was in office and is used “as-needed” for multiple tasks. The helicopter is deployed during searches for stolen property, for marijuana eradication and for searches of individuals who may be lost in remote areas.

“The aircraft is a tremendous service for Pulaski County, and not just for Pulaski County, but for out neighbors as well,” Wood said. “That is why upgrading it is so very important.”

Wood said U.S. Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers played a major part in securing the funds.

“A tremendous thanks goes out to the Congressman’s office,” Wood said.

In a p-repared statement Rogers said funding for modernizing law enforcement equipment is tantamount to ensuring that emergency units are able to serve their communities to the best of their abilities.

“Aerial assets with modernized equipment are essential law enforcement tools for a region such as ours,” Rogers said in the statement. “This investment will help eliminate communications barriers between the helicopter and local emergency service organizations in our rural area.

“Modern communication technology will increase public safety and emergency response throughout a 100-mile radius that includes mountainous terrain, expansive Lake Cumberland, Interstate 75 and the Daniel Boone National Forest,” the statement added.

The U.S. Senate will vote on the legislation next week.