NewsRegister.com: Communication Breakdown

Their radio project, five years; our radio project, 18 months Reporter David Bates gives an inside look at the process of writing the special report below.

Radio project beset with troubles Consultant Art Walker, at center of fiasco, isn't talking "The Perfect storm" One system, many players The 2000 levy One system, two paths A failure to plan "It just made sense" Great expectations

Who's who Some of the people mentioned in this two-part series are Art Walker, Rod Brown, Jay Lilly, Wayne McFarlin, Ron Noble, Jack Crabtree, John Krawczyk, Murray Paolo, Leslie Lewis, Waldo Farnham. Their parts in the process are summarized here.

Names and terms Some of the agency acronyms and technological terms used in this two-part series and their parts in the process are YCOM, YESD, FCC, Monart Associates, National Interop, ADComm Engineering, MPT 1327, trunked radio, conventional radio, VHF, UHF, microwave.

Timeline - 1988 to 2007 To enlarge the image, click first on story name, Timeline, above, then on the image itself

Part Two Early signs of trouble Mac goes live Mounting concerns Trouble on the mountain The levy is not enough "A tense meeting" "The last straw" "Cease any and all work" AdComm enters picture Mac nears finish line Epilogue

Radio cost may hit $3.1 million Waldo Farnham brings things to a head with scathing critique: He termed it a fiasco.

Homeland security grants to Yamhill County The grand total since 2003 could approach $2 million. To enlarge the image, click first on story name, Homeland security grants, above, then on the image itself.

A litany of little things gone wrong County radio system has run into problem after problem Lightning strikes Delays Defective dish Order lost One step forward, two steps back

Doane Creek Tower Perched on a hill in Polk County four miles south of Willamina at an elevation of 1,348 feet, this tower was designed to provide trunked radio coverage to Amity, Sheridan and Willamina. Nearly five years since passage of the levy, the trunking element has been junked in favor of a purely conventional system. And the conventional system is still not fully up and running.

High Heaven Tower Standing six miles west of McMinnville at an elevation of 1, 742 feet, this tower serves a trunking system installed by the city of McMinnville, which split off from the main effort and went its own way back in 2002. It provides coverage for Carlton, Lafayette, Cove Orchard and Whiteson, but is still not working as intended. It is in line for further upgrades.

Mountain Top Tower This tower sits at the 1,354-foot level on Chehalem Mountain, on property owned by Paul Wells near the Washington County line. A land-use dispute between Wells and the county ate up more than a year, forcing the county to find another location for a large microwave dish originally intended for this tower.