Posted: 5/23/06
Homeland Security grant helping county
By Heather M. Gray
Spring Grove Herald Editor
At its regular meeting on Tuesday, May 16, the Houston County board learned about some new equipment purchases the sheriffís department will be making.
It was noted that all purchases will be paid for through a Homeland Security grant secured by Emergency services coordinator Rob Gross. The $20,000 in funding is leftover from last yearís budget after the designated purchases had been made.
Chief Deputy Ken Frank discussed a used 3,000 hydro-hoist that will be purchased from Custom Doc King of La Crosse, Wis. for $3,000 with labor. The hoist is for the patrol boat that is currently stored in Caledonia and has to be hauled down on a trailer to the river anytime it is needed.
The lift will allow the boat to remain in the slip at Brownsville the entire season so it can be utilized at a momentís notice for medical emergencies or boat patrols on the river without the boat being damaged by high winds or high water and it will also be protected from algae growth.
Information systems supervisor Lindsay Pierce presented a plan for 16 new color infrared DigiCamís (digital cameras) for the sheriffís office and jail. Six cameras will go in the jail and the rest in the sheriffís office and outside of the building and courthouse for security.
The digital cameras will be tied into a monitor at the sheriffís office 24/7 and will also be hooked up to a PC so they can record any activity and burn it onto a DVD for court or other purposes, a capability the county currently doesnít have.
With equipment and materials the cost will be $4,519.88 from an online company- Insight. The installation will be handled by the IS department.
The final purchase discussed was $4,068.39 from Intelligent Computer Solutions of Rockwood, Tenn. for a forensic kit, hard drive lock and adapter. This will allow the sheriffís department to replicate a suspectís data on its own computer hard drive without modification, re-arrangement or corruption so it will stand up in court and aid in investigations.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com