Chelan Co. Sheriff’s Office Receives $55K Grant For Helicopter Upgrades

The Chelan County Sheriff's Office has acquired grant funding to assist with communications upgrades for its helicopter.

The $55,752.24 grant was provided through the Communications Tax Shared Funding Assistance Program and will go towards new radios and audio panels that help helicopter crews stay in contact with ground units and other aircraft.

Get our free mobile app

Sheriff Mike Morrison says the funding highlights his agency’s continued efforts to secure external resources to meet operational needs while remaining mindful of taxpayer contributions.

"We understand that the county is facing some financial challenges, but that does not reduce the amount of work that we have to do as a sheriff's office if funding is not available. So, with that job still needing to be done, we're always looking for outside sources that we can apply through to get funding and this was another one that allowed us to get some equipment that we sorely needed for our helicopter."

Morrison adds that his agency's helicopter is also utilized by neighboring counties, such as Douglas; Grant; Kittitas; and Okanogan.

"Neighboring agencies do occasionally ask us to come in with our helicopter and assist them, so being able to keep our helicopter in the air and not taxing our county funds does help us to get the job done, both for our county and our neighboring counties."

The funding request was approved by RiverCom's board of directors.