Atlantic Rotary donates $3k for drone equipped w/thermal imaging

October 15th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Two members of the Atlantic Rotary Club, President Brian Harris, and Ruth Sears, Thursday (today), presented Atlantic Police Lt. Devin Hogue with a grant check for $3,000, which will help defer the cost of a drone used for emergency situations.

Atlantic Police Lt. Devin Hogue (center) receives a check for $3,000 from Atlantic Rotary President Brian Harris. (also pictured from left to right): Atlantic Fire Chief Tom Cappel; Cass County Sheriff Darby McLaren; Cass Co. EMA Director Mike Kennon; Rotary member Ruth Sears; Atlantic PD Officer Brock Thompson. (Photo submitted)

Lt. Hogue has headed-up the effort to acquire a drone equipped with FLIR, a Forward-looking Infrared camera, otherwise referred to as a thermal imaging camera, which detects heat signatures.

Hogue said the total cost of the program, including the drone, camera, and training, is just shy of $20,000. After Hogue, other law enforcement and Emergency Management officials saw a demonstration of what a drone can do, he spearheaded the effort to acquire the funding.

Other grant funds in addition to those provided by the Rotary, are currently pending. The FLIR feature of the drone, Hogue says will help in many situations.

Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon if a law enforcement or emergency manager needs a drone, time is of the essence. He says drones from Montgomery and Shelby Counties were used last week in locating cattle that had gotten loose along the interstate, and a drone would have been helpful back in July 2015, when there was an anhydrous ammonia leak at West Central Cooperative.

Hogue said the drone will be purchased from HTS Ag in Harlan. The Autel Evo II dual is expected to arrive hopefully, by the first of the year. By then, the determination will be made who the most qualified pilots are.

He said they hope to show the public the capabilities of the new tool, sometime in the coming months.

Hogue says they’re happy to get the program underway, and very appreciative of the funds they’ve received thus far, including $8,000 from the Cass County EMA.