Pendleton
Police officer Rowen Hayes monitors traffic on his motorcycle equipped with
a 450 MHz radio. Staff photo
PENDLETON — The Pendleton
Police Department has switched to a new radio system that will allow it to
communicate with other public safety agencies in the event of an emergency
at the Umatilla Chemical Depot or other events requiring interagency cooperation.
Pendleton is switching from the conventional VHF radio system to
the new UHF 450 MHz radio system. Most police and fire departments in the
area hope to make the switch by the end of the summer.
The majority of all local police agencies, fire/emergency medical
service agencies and hospitals will make the switch by the end of summer.
The new system can cover a much larger area than the VHF system and
provide better reception for both mobile and portable radios, said Shawn
Halsey, communications coordinator for the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness
Program, which backed most of the funding for two-county conversion project,
which will cost about $9 million.
The new 450 MHz system is expected to allow for better communication
between agencies, as well as dispatch centers in Morrow and Umatilla County.
Pendleton’s police are the first agency to begin using the new system,
which was installed June 2. Most of Morrow County’s agencies should be set
up by the end of next week, Halsey said.
“With our old system, there were areas around town where officers
couldn’t reach dispatch, and some of the portables couldn’t get good reception,”
said Lt. Mark Swanson of Pendleton Police. “With this new system, we haven’t
been able to find a dead spot in town.”
Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts told Pendleton City Manager
Larry Lehman in a memo that before the new system was installed, first responders
were unable to communicate uniformly with each other.
Besides having increased communication in the event of a chemical
emergency at the depot once burning begins this year, Swanson said the quality
of day-to-day communication will increase.
“It’s a night and day difference from the old system,” Swanson said.
