[TWIAR] 'Towering' donation aids Michigan city police

[Greg Williams]

'Towering' donation aids city police

Tower will double police radio coverage area

By Kym Boelter-Muckler, Staff Writer

PUBLISHED: August 3, 2006

In 1977, HAM radio enthusiast Don Churchill spent $700 for a 64-foot 
radio tower for his backyard. Last Friday, Churchill donated his great 
antennae to the Milan Police Department, which was more than happy to 
have it erected in their back yard.

Milan Police Chief Jeff Lewis said the new tower means better 
communications between dispatch and his officers on the street, and it 
will double the radio area covered, as well.

"I just have to give a big thank you to Mr. Churchill on behalf of the 
Milan Police Department," Lewis said. "This technology will greatly 
enhance our ability to communicate with one another. It's terrific."

For Churchill, the donation signals the end of what was an intense hobby 
for him in the 1970s.

He remembers many fascinating conversations with other HAM operators 
around the globe.

"I remember talking to an operator in Sydney, Australia," Churchill 
said. "He said he was up on a hill. He told me that when I spoke he 
could hear an echo."

The echo meant that Churchill's signal was so strong it was bouncing 
around the globe and hitting the Sydney signal twice, which is very 
fascinating fodder in the HAM radio world.

The new tower also will bring better coverage for the Milan Area Fire 
Department paging system and clearer voice messaging in their paging 
system, said Mike Armitage, Milan Police Department reserve dispatcher, 
who was full of praise for the new tower.

"Being interested in radios, and owning a scanner since the age of 10, I 
have always been disappointed in the radio coverage for our fire 
dispatch," he said.

"It is also a safety issue as the firefighters have a limited radio 
range when talking to our dispatch."

The 64-foot tower was given 20 feet more height from the fire department 
antennae, bringing the entire tower to an impressive height of 84 feet.

The new tower will have the following antennas: wireless Internet, fire 
VHF paging, Fire 800 MHz, Monroe Sheriff 800 MHz, scanner and Milan 
police backup radio. It's also expected to improve fire department 
paging coverage by some 50 percent.

The installation was done with the help of Milan Area firefighter Dan 
Carpus, who works for the Michigan 800 MHz Communications system.

"He is used to climbing towers that are 150 feet high," Armitage said. 
"I don't know how he does it."

The tower donation came as a result of a chance conversation between 
Churchill's daughter, Martha, and Armitage.

"On the way to Algonac for Mayor Exchange Day, Martha and I began 
talking about radios as we were trying to turn off the two-way radio in 
the transit van we were in. We began talking about her father's interest 
in radios," he said.

Martha Churchill mentioned that her father no longer uses his equipment, 
and the idea was born from there, Armitage said.

With the help of the Milan Department of Public Works and the Federal 
Corrections Institution prison crew, the tower was disassembled and cut 
off its concrete base with a torch.

Reassembly of the tower was a team effort, with Carpus assembling the 
tower with the help of City Administrator Dan Bishop, Charles Alan, 
Michigan International Speedway Director Chris Slay, Department of 
Public Works Director Todd Knepper, DPW employee Charles Knepper, Police 
Chief Lewis, Milan Building and Zoning official Robert Grostic and Armitage.

"HAM radio was an intense hobby for him," Martha Churchill said of her 
father. "His call letters were WD8DTL, and my mother's were WD8DTK. She 
was dead-tired-kisser, and he was dead-tired-lover. It was their little 
joke, they used to laugh about it."

As soon as the new tower is wired, which should be this week, the former 
tower will be relocated to serve the DPW paging system.

Churchill said he paid some $700 for the tower in 1977, and if purchased 
new today would retail at about $7,000.

While the new technology will significantly enhance Milan's public 
safety communications it will not affect the police radios, as that 
system is based from a Scio Township tower. That system will be upgraded 
within the next two years with funds from the 800 MHz millage passed 
earlier this year in Washtenaw County.

CUTLINES:

Tower 2:

Milan Area Fire Department fire fighter Dan Carpus braves great heights 
to install the new 64-foot tower donated to the Milan Police Department 
by Don Churchill.

Tower 3:

Standing in front of the new tower for the dedication ceremony held last 
Friday are City Administrator Dan Bishop (left), Don Churchill, Martha 
Churchill, Police Chief Jeff Lewis and dispatcher Mike Armitage.