PRINCETON — The radio equipment at the Bureau County Sheriff’s Department is 100 percent junk and needs to be replaced, according to consultant Jim Eatock of B-K Electric.

Eatock has completed a 171-page study of the public safety emergency radio systems in Bureau County, as authorized by the Bureau County Board. The board met in special session Tuesday evening to hear the findings of Eatock’s study. In his nearly three-hour presentation, Eatock assessed the equipment which the county currently has, what the needs are, and how the county gets to where it needs to be.

According to Eatock, the only usable part of the county’s radio communication system is the Providence communication tower. The rest of the equipment needs immediate replacement. The “drop dead” deadline to comply with new requirements of the Federal Communications Center is Dec. 31, which is fast approaching, he said. However, Bureau County has known about that deadline for the past 10 years, Eatock said.