By Robert King -- Daily Staff Writer

FRONT ROYAL — The Warren County Sheriff's Office is seeking grant funds to install surveillance systems at two high school stadiums.

The county Board of Supervisors agreed to provide a local match for the grant during a meeting Tuesday. The grant would provide $59,990 to pay for two surveillance systems to cover the stadiums at Skyline High School and Warren County High School.

The supervisors would provide a 50 percent match of $29,995 if the grant from the federal government is approved.

Sheriff Daniel T. McEathron told the board the Sheriff's Office has a similar system at Bing Crosby Stadium. Mc-Eathron said the system covers the parking lots, common areas and other parts of the stadium.

"It covers a large span," he said.

Surveillance equipment was installed in both high schools. Skyline opened last fall, while Warren County is housed in the former junior high, which was renovated and expanded for its new use.

McEathron said because of limited funding, the school division wasn't able to include surveillance systems for sports complexes for each school.

A surveillance system would help deter trespassers and assist law enforcement in any investigation, the grant application reads.

"It will assist in solving crime-related incidents, while also observing them before they occur," the application reads. "It will help aide the prosecution of suspected criminals. Deputies will easily be able to identify individuals and/or suspects with the ... system."

The system, called the Remote Access Video Enforcement Network, allows officials to access the system remotely.

"The [system] provides instant activation, and gives the user access to live video images at up to one mile line of sight on location," the application reads.

In other business, the supervisors:

* Approved $96,708 for a telephone system for Warren County Public Schools. The payment goes toward a lease for a telephone system for the division.

The school division originally asked the supervisors for an 8 percent increase in local funding in the budget for the next fiscal year, which begins in July.

The county decided to give the schools a 7 percent increase instead.

However, the county asked Schools Superintendent Pamela McInnis if there were any capital items "the county could help pay down in order to lessen their operating budget," a county staff report reads.

McInnis wrote to County Administrator Douglas P. Stanley the division didn't identify any one-time purchases, but asked for help in paying the phone system lease.

* Approved new scholarships for Skyline High School.

The Warren County Educational Foundation, established by the board in 1986, usually gives a $5,000 scholarship to the top male and female graduates at Warren County High School. With last year's addition of Skyline, the supervisors decided to award a $5,000 scholarship to the top female and male graduates of that school as well. The supervisors will ask the Carl and Emily Thompson Charitable trust to fund the additional scholarships.

* Contact Robert King at rking@nvdaily.com