County emergency services, law enforcement getting upgrades

Murphy – Cherokee County commissioners approved thousands of dollars in expenditures to upgrade law enforcement and emergency services.

The board of commissioners, at its Nov. 17 meeting, approved the following:

• $7,626 to equip and outfit and animal control vehicle purchased from Graham County Animal Refuge;
• $36,000 to upgrade the fingerprint machine at the Cherokee County Detention Center;
• $11,550 in contingency funds and $16,500 from the sale of surplus assets to purchase a new $309,000 ambulance for Cherokee County Emergency Medical Services;
• $13,368 for Emergency Management to purchase a second camera-equipped aerial drone; 
• applying for several grants to install backup generators at local radio stations and tower sites to provide emergency information (no amount shown), radio repeaters for emergency communications ($25,000), 15 VIPER capable handheld radios ($25,000) and to build and equip an mobile emergency command trailer ($25,000);
• about $2,000 to acquire high-visibility shirts for volunteer search-and-rescue members.

The board approved all allocations and requests unanimously.