Wednesday, December 18, 2002

Sheriff's helicopter relocating to Falcon Field By JOHN MUNFORD jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com The Fayette County Sheriff's Department's helicopter unit will move its base of operations to Peachtree City's Falcon Field the first of the year. The helicopter is currently stationed at the Coweta County airport, where it shares a hangar with the Georgia Department of Corrections. But the Peachtree City Airport Authority offered the department free hangar space to keep the chopper, and the department decided to take them up on the offer. "It will allow us to have a quicker response time," Jordan said. The hangar will need to have office space built, which may possibly be done with state prison labor at no cost to the county, Jordan said. The authority would pay only for the materials used if that situation could occur, he added. Authority chairwoman Cathy Nelmes said having the Sheriff's Department located at Falcon Field will help provide an extra sense of security there. The helicopter, which was used to help locate an armed carjacking suspect from Atlanta several months ago, has been on routine patrols all across the county, Jordan said. The helicopter will be relocated to Falcon Field the first week of January when the department's chief pilot, Bill Riley, comes on board, Jordan said. What do you think of this story? Click here to send a message to the editor. Back to the News Home Page| Back to the top of the page