Sheriff’s Office planning tech. upgrades ten years in the making

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - Sheriff Rick Woodyard appeared before Wood County Commission Thursday seeking approval for a technological upgrade for the department.

The Wood County Sheriff’s Office currently uses radio repeaters to maximize range and distance, however Woodyard says the department’s repeaters are nearly 10 years old... “the oldest in the system.”

He says putting in a “simulcast system” will expand range exponentially, and it’s something he says the department’s been working toward for a long time.

Woodyard says that in the last couple of weeks, the department could have benefitted from a more robust radio system as a number of pursuits have taken them outside city limits.

Woodyard expects the cost to be $36,000 and believes that to be within the department’s budget.

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