New radio equipment funded earlier this week will improve the Union County Sheriff's Office's communications abilities, Chief Deputy Charlie Phillips said.

On Thursday, the Union County Quorum Court voted to approve an expenditure of $55,326.25 for the equipment.

"Our next ordinance is an ordinance that came in today ... for the cost of radio towers to improve communication on the far eastern end of the county," District 1 Justice of the Peace Mike Dumas said Thursday.

The new equipment includes two brand new repeaters, which re-transmit radio signals to help the signal travel farther. A third repeater will be moved to a new location, Phillips said.

"We're putting a brand new one in Huttig -- they're letting us use their tower there -- and we're putting a brand new one in Calion, and the other one is getting moved to New London," he said. "So if somebody's in Midway, over towards Wesson, that repeater will talk to the one at New London, Huttig or Calion, so everybody should be able to hear everybody."

Phillips explained the UCSO has had difficulty in the past communicating on the east side of the county, and the new equipment will help with that.

"It broadens our communication area. We have a lot of areas in the east of the county that our guys can't communicate in," he said. "That's a a safety issue, so we're moving these around so we should be able to talk anywhere on the east end of Union County."

Some of the new equipment has already been installed -- antennas and coax cables -- but the UCSO is still awaiting delivery of the repeaters themselves. Phillips said installation is expected to be complete by March, 2022.

Phillips said deputies often perform search and rescue missions near the Ouachita River, and the new communication equipment will help with coordination during those.

"It's just a safety issue for our officers, that's why we're doing it," he said. "This is going to help us communicate a little better when we're doing those (search and rescue) projects."

The funds for the equipment were appropriated from the county's 911 reserve fund.

Present JPs voted unanimously in favor of funding the new equipment. District 5 JP Carolyn Jones was absent Thursday.

Thursday's meeting was the final Quorum Court meeting of the year. The body is expected to meet next on Jan. 20, 2022.

Print Headline: New radio equipment to improve UCSO communication abilities

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