Not sure how many of you read the News Tribune article about Starcom 21 in the January 26, 2010, paper. It was on page A3. According to the article, LaSalle County Sheriff Tom Templeton is concerned about the safety of his deputies because of the “dead zones” in the currently used Starcom radio system. The LaSalle County Board will be considering alternative radio systems and has asked the States Attorney to research what it would take to break the Starcom contract. LaSalle County is 1 of only 7 counties out of 102 counties in Illinois who uses Starcom. This is the radio system that the Office of the Bureau County Sheriff wants to put into place in Bureau County. The radio system currently in use in Bureau County already has “dead zones” that require the deputies on patrol to, at certain times, use their personal cell phones to contact a dispatcher. Why would anyone want to change to a sytem that has the same faults as the current system, but would cost Bureau County much more over the long term? And a system that would continue to place Bureau County deputies in the same dangerous situation that they are currently in. I am sure that if you were to find the correct venue, the Office of the Sheriff would answer that question.