WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — Miami Trace Local Schools received the single largest share in a state program that has handed out more than 700 surplus radios to fire departments, schools and sheriff’s offices in Fayette, Ross, Pike, Pickaway and Highland counties, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
The state prison agency said it has donated 739 pre-owned Motorola APX 4000 radios and accessories to 25 agencies statewide as it replaces its Multi-Agency Radio Communication System, or MARCS, fleet, a process the agency said will take several years to complete.
Miami Trace Local Schools received 100 radios, the most of any recipient statewide. In Pickaway County, the county’s Emergency Management Agency received 25 radios, the Southwest Pickaway Fire District received 15, Pickaway Township Fire Department received 15 and Scioto Township Fire received 12, according to the agency’s list of recipients. Pick-A-Fay Fire also received 25 radios.
In Pike County, the sheriff’s office received 30 radios and Scioto Valley Local Schools, which opened a new $20 million middle school in August, received 50. The Highland County North Joint Fire and Ambulance District received 12 radios, and the Bainbridge Fire Department in Ross County, which received a donation of emergency drinking water for wildfire season earlier this summer, received 10.
“One of our core values at ODRC is ‘One Team, One Purpose,’” ODRC Interim Director Ed Banks said in a statement. “We knew that there was a need for this technology in some of our communities, and this is one way we can give back. I want to especially recognize ODRC project manager Kyle Hauswirth for taking on this project and noticing the need in the community.”
The agency said the Motorola APX 4000 radios being phased out still hold value for agencies that may lack the resources to modernize or expand their own equipment. After ODRC shared the idea with local agencies, the response was enthusiastic, and requests from other organizations continue to come in, the release said. The agency said it will keep fulfilling requests as its upgrade progresses over the next several years.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
