Also hear about sheriff’s drone
With the completion of two bridge projects in the past two weeks county engineer Wade Weiss is laying plans for the next project, a new bridge over W. Buttrick Creek on County Road E-18 in Dawson Township, four miles west of Paton.
The county supervisors on Monday approved the plans of proposed improvement for the project. The new bridge will be 30-1/2 feet wide and 100 feet long, including approaches. The current bridge is only 22 feet wide and 60 feet long.
The $700,000 cost will come from state farm-to-market funds. Weiss is also planning an overlay project for a total construction budget of $936,000 next year.
Weiss hopes to have construction started early next spring so the work that is required in the creek is finished before May 15. There are Topeka shiners, an endangered species of minnow, in the creek, so construction is not allowed in the creek between May 15 and Aug. 1. According to Weiss, there are Topeka shiners in several creeks in the county.
Sheriff Jack Williams reported to the supervisors that he and chief deputy Nathanael Chapman will be certified next month as FAA-licensed drone operators. The sheriff’s office received a donation during the summer to fund purchase of a drone.
The camera on the drone will have infrared capability. Williams said it will greatly improve the office’s capacity to conduct searches for missing persons, particularly along the river. His office averages four night-time river searches per year, he said.
The drone will have a flight time of 35 minutes per battery and a range of four miles. Top speed is 45 miles per hour. “It will cover a lot of ground quickly,” Williams said.
There are limited laws in effect at this time to protect privacy from drones. Sean Sebourn, also an FFA-licensed drone operator, was at the meeting on other business but joined the conversation. He said at this time, staying at least 60 feet above a residence is the requirement.
Assistant county attorney Thomas Laehn agreed that there is little legal precedent regarding drones, privacy and law enforcement. Currently the “reasonable expectation of privacy” is measured against what the “average” member of the public has. Because the “average” member of the public has access to binoculars, law enforcement can use technology that gives that same sort of close-up look, he explained.
“The interesting thing is that because drones are so widely available, because citizens now are flying drones all the time, my sense is that the police are going to be able to do pretty much anything with these drones as long as they’re using technology available,” Laehn said.
Sebourn said the noise of a drone makes them unable to do covert surveillance. “You’re not going to be able to hide it,” he said.
