Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Services Search And Rescue topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Buffalo Trace Search and Rescue awarded military‑grade drone through competitive KEMA grant
Summary
Kentucky Emergency Management awarded a competitive grant that will provide Buffalo Trace Search and Rescue with a military‑grade drone equipped with high‑resolution and thermal imaging to aid hazardous searches and missing‑person operations in Mason County.
Kentucky Emergency Management has awarded Buffalo Trace Search and Rescue a competitive grant that will supply the volunteer team with a military‑grade drone equipped with high‑resolution and thermal imaging, officials told the Mason County Fiscal Court on Jan. 14.
The award was announced during a presentation to the court by Jason York, District Director for Kentucky Emergency Management, who joined Eddie Johnson, executive director of Buffalo Trace Search and Rescue, and Mason County Emergency Management Director Tony Leese. “We presented our case at the review committee, and we were awarded. You’re going to be getting a military‑grade drone for your community,” York said.
The grant covers a higher‑end platform than the program’s standard minimum package; officials said the drone is intended to allow search teams to scan hazardous or hard‑to‑reach areas without placing rescuers in harm’s way. Jason York said the platform will include a very high‑resolution camera and thermal imaging capabilities. Eddie Johnson and local emergency management officials said the equipment can be used for quicker searches in cases such as ongoing missing‑person responses in the Maysville area.
Judge McNeil and others on the court praised the teams’ efforts in recent extreme weather and search operations. Tony Leese thanked both the grant partners and the Buffalo Trace team and highlighted the benefit to regional response capacity. No formal action or county funding request was associated with the announcement; the presentation was informational and celebratory.
Officials said the grant award followed a competitive application and review process at the state level; Buffalo Trace elected to pursue the competitive package rather than the standard, lower‑threshold option for equipment funding.
The county will coordinate logistics for receipt and use of the equipment with Buffalo Trace Search and Rescue and Mason County emergency management. The court did not place conditions on the grant during the meeting and no vote was required.
The announcement comes as local agencies continue to coordinate on winter weather response and missing‑person searches; speakers said the new drone will expand capabilities for night and hazardous‑terrain operations.
