The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office has its own helicopter again, at least on a part-time basis.
A reserve deputy and longtime law enforcement advocate is donating the use of his helicopter to two sheriff's offices on a limited basis.
Don Skaggs is president and CEO of Skaggs Companies, often referred to as Skaggs Communications Services. Skaggs Companies operates more than a dozen retail public safety stores and a public safety catalog division. Its products are sold to public safety organizations worldwide.
Skaggs is also a reserve deputy for both the Salt Lake and Summit County sheriff's offices.
Recently, Skaggs purchased his own helicopter, which is reportedly more powerful than the two used by the Department of Public Safety.
"It's twice the helicopter," said Salt Lake County Sheriff Aaron Kennard.
Skaggs is making his helicopter available to both sheriff's offices. For the past several weeks, he has been flying it around both counties earning enough hours to be the certified pilot of his new aircraft.
Kennard said Skaggs plans to donate the helicopter and his own time to search and rescue efforts and some limited patrols, splitting time between Salt Lake and Summit counties.
One side of the helicopter has the Salt Lake County sheriff's logo painted on it and the other the logo for the Summit County Sheriff's Office.
The advantage of having the helicopter is its availability on very short notice, Kennard said. The potential problem of waiting in line to use a DPS chopper would be eliminated, he said.
For Kennard, getting a helicopter back in his fleet would accomplish a goal he's been working on for a couple of years.
The sheriff's office was forced to sell its two helicopters to the state in 2000 for $1.65 million because of budget problems. But Kennard remained a strong advocate of the choppers, at one time telling the Deseret Morning News, "One helicopter in the air equals 12 deputies on the ground."
The choppers were missed not only for search and rescue but crime situations such as high-speed chases, he said.
Kennard said he has had discussions recently with new Mayor Peter Corroon about bringing a helicopter back on a part-time basis. In December, Corroon had said he would reintroduce one helicopter, defraying the purchase price with a public-private partnership.
For Summit County, Sheriff Dave Edmunds said, "It's one more piece of equipment we can never afford. It augments our service."
Skaggs picks up all the bills for the helicopter unless there is an extended search and rescue, in which case the sheriff's office would pay for fuel, Edmunds said.
Neither department has used the helicopter yet in a real-life scenario, although Edmunds said Skaggs happened to be training in Summit County recently when there was a report of a missing snowshoer. Skaggs was on his way to assist in the search when the man was found.
Both Kennard and Edmunds praised Skaggs for his helicopter contribution.
"He's one of those guys who likes to do positive things with his money," Edmunds said.
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com