The town's emergency service tower may have fallen to the wind last Friday but when it comes to critical communications, the show must go on.

So it will, through the temporary placement of communications equipment (that will serve both the fire and sheriff's departments) at Channel 41's tower.

After the tower's collapse, the fire department and sheriff's office were forced to operate on a car-to-car patch system.

Thanks to the assistance of George Johnson, county radio technician, that was the case for only a few hours, however, and by early Friday evening both departments had re-established regular communication.

The fire department and the sheriff's office are each using separate repeaters on opposite sides of town to communicate.

Placing a tower at Channel 41 promises to be a slightly more permanent, but still temporary, solution. However, it is estimated that it will take at approximately two to three weeks to get the system at Channel 41 up and running.

The television station has requested a fee of $250 a month to lease the space to the county.

In the meantime, the county is considering placing permanent equipment on a different tower located on the west side of town.

Should the town decide to replace the tower that fell on Wheeler Pass Road, it may be used as an emergency back-up station but will no longer be essential for EMS communication.

The county has estimated the cost of the equipment that was damaged by the fallen tower is approximately $10,000.

How much it will cost to replace the tower, other antennas and interior equipment has not yet been determined.