County agrees to upgrade to MOSWIN radio frequency

At the prompting of the Holts Summit Police Department, the Callaway County Commission voted this week to purchase the necessary equipment for the Emergency Operations Center to communicate with the public safety organizations across the state.

In 2013, the HSPD received a $100,000 grant to upgrade its communication system to radios that are compatable with the Missouri Statewide Interoperabiligy Network (MOSWIN) - a network of communication towers, base stations and communication software that, according to the MOSWIN website, provides "the infrastructure that will provide interoperable communications throughout the state."

Although the new radios allowed the HSPD to communicate on the state frequency, Western District Commissioner Doc Kritzer said they could not talk to the EOC - for that they had to keep some of the old units tuned to the old frequency.

On Tuesday, Holts Summit officials approached the commission about the possibility of upgrading equipment at the EOC to operate on the MOSWIN frequency.

"They asked would the county invest $2,000-$3,000 for installation of that equipment," Kritzer said. "We pretty well agreed that we thought it was a good idea."

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.