Helicopter Rumors Crash, Burn
The helicopter rumors are flying again.
Only this time, it’s not black helicopters, it’s police helicopters.
Whispers that Sheriff Pierce Clegg secretly bought three helicopters have been filtering through the grapevine for months. And now, these mysterious whirly-birds have made their way into the political fray.
“Word in the department has it that Clegg has even acquired HELICOPTERS!” reads an ad from sheriff’s candidate Karl Thompson’s. “What’s that going to cost us?”
But Clegg and other county officials say the rumors are just plain false. “This department does not own any helicopters,” Clegg said. “We don’t have any hidden in garages, we don’t have any stored away.”
Phil Cummings, Coeur d’Alene Airport operations manager, agrees. He handles the county’s federal surplus. “I know all the county warehouses and we don’t have any helicopters,” he said. “I’d know about it if the county did it.”
Sheriff Clegg said he studied the possibility of landing three helicopters several months ago when military surplus was offering used ones for free to government agencies.
The plan was to sell one helicopter to a private business to pay for refurbishing another helicopter for emergency uses such as search and rescue. The third aircraft then would be used for parts, Clegg said.
“We were trying to find a way to get a program that wouldn’t cost the taxpayers anything,” Clegg said.
Thompson, who is challenging Clegg for the sheriff’s office next Tuesday, said it’s a bad idea.
“The operational costs are astronomical,” Thompson said. “It’s far more cost-effective to rent one on an as-needed basis.”
Clegg said he figured that out months ago. The deal never went further than the study phase after they realized the costs were too high and the military wouldn’t allow them to sell one of the helicopters.
If the rumors aren’t true, Thompson says it’s a sign of the poor communication between the sheriff and his employees. Thompson said his information has been coming from within the department. But Clegg said it’s just political hogwash. “The helicopter issue is dead.”
Thompson said he’s also heard through the department that Clegg might wait for the election to end before trying again for a helicopter.
“No I’m not,” Clegg said, “With only one exception - If some company or some benefactor wanted to walk up to Kootenai County and give us a helicopter. But I expect that to happen as much as I expect to win the lottery.”
, DataTimes