Griffith, Craig County Officials Celebrate Progress on Emergency Radio Communications

After close to one year of work with federal, state and local partners, Craig County recently announced that it secured a Right-of-Way Access Permit for an Emergency Radio Tower site in Craig County. The site is located off of Forest Service Road, known as Hall Road, and belongs to the United States Forest Service.

For many years, Craig County has fought through various barriers and regulations that restricted its ability to provide emergency radio capabilities to its residents and first responders. After being contacted by Craig County Supervisor Jordan Labiosa, U.S. Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) worked with relevant Craig County officials, including Craig County Board of Supervisors members, Craig County Administrator Dan Collins and Craig County Emergency Management/Services Coordinator Darryl Humphreys, to help with the application process and acquisition of a Right-of-Way Permit from the United States Forest Service.

"Sufficient access to public safety communications helps local governments and first responder organizations," said Congressman Griffith. "Craig County has worked diligently to deliver quality emergency radio communications systems, but an issue with the United States Forest Service unnecessarily delayed Craig County's progress. I commend the Craig County team for their resilience during this process, and I am glad we worked together to find a solution to this issue."

"We would like to thank Congressman Griffith and his staff for the work and effort to help Craig County in obtaining the needed easement permit from the Forest Service for the Emergency Radio System tower site," said Administrator Collins and Coordinator Humphreys. "This will help the citizens of the County and first responders have better radio communications during emergencies."

BACKGROUND

Supervisor Labiosa's statement on this news can be found here.

During this process, Congressman Griffith inspected the site on Hall Road with Craig County officials.

In 2024, Congressman Griffith joined Craig County officials to honor Craig County Deputy Gregory May. In the wake of Hurricane Helene, Deputy May responded to an emergency situation.

In September, Congressman Griffith participated in a hearing to discuss public safety communications in Southwest Virginia.

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