New Boat For Tehama County Sheriff's Office

The Tehama County Sheriff's Department is getting a new patrol boat for the Sacramento River. The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the request in March, allowing Tehama County Sheriff Clay Parker to use a $80,000 state boating and waterways grant to purchase a $62,201 ThunderJet Alexis, 2009 22-foot aluminum-hull patrol vessel and trailer. "We plan on having it on the water by June," Parker said. The new custom, high -performance, all-weather jet boat features a five-panel windshield with canvas cover and dive platform/pump protector. Power for the vessel will be a new V-8 powered gas engine and jet propulsion.Tehama County deputies patrol 85 miles of the Sacramento River, as well as Black Butte Lake, to ensure equipment and safety regulations are adhered to, according to Parker. Any accident or incident occurring on public waterways within the county is investigated by the Tehama County Sheriff's Boating Unit, said Tehama County Undersheriff Dennis Garton. The new boat will join two others like it that are used for waterway patrol. The boats, equipped for rescue in all weather conditions, are capable of speeds in excess of 50 mph and can operate in less than 5 inches of water, said Garton.