January 13, 2010

BIG FLATS - The Southern Tier has a new line of defense against explosives.  Three-year-old Chase, a Labrador Retriever, and an explosive detector are the newest members of the Chemung County Sheriff's Office.  They were purchased by a grant from the State Department of Homeland Security.
     The devices will be stationed at the Elmira Corning Regional Airport but will be made available to surrounding counties in the Twin Tiers.  “They compliment each other certainly, but you can use one without the other,” said Sheriff Christopher Moss.  "You don't need both of them, if the dog wasn't available for some reason we could use the kit to confirm there was explosives present, and if we just had the dog we could do that too.”
     Deputy Dean Frisbie, has been training chase since six-months.  “You got to think outside the box,” said Deputy Frisbie, “I help him think outside the box and we use his sense of smell, which is over three-hundred times greater than a human’s, and that’s what we capitalize on.”
     This is the 3rd dog he has trained for the Chemung County Sheriff's Office, the previous Chemung County explosion detective dog and deputy retired a year ago.  “We’re stationed here [Elmira Corning Regional Airport], it gives me the freedom to come and go,” said Deputy Frisbie, “but we’re open up to the Southern Tier and to assist other law enforcement agencies in our community.”
    “I think this is probably very reassuring for the community to know that these are assets that we have available to us,” said Ann Crook, Elmira Corning Regional Airport Manager, “especially right after the event that happened in Detroit just a couple of weeks ago.”