Schuylkill County's Adult Probation officers will be well-protected as they go out to meet with offenders under their supervision.

County commissioners on Wednesday approved spending $25,031 for 29 sets of body armor.The gear will be bought from Witmer Public Safety Group, Coatesville, Chester County, through the state's COSTARS program.COSTARS, a program of the Department of General Services, allows government agencies, nonprofit educational or public health institutions or organizations; any nonprofit fire, rescue, or ambulance companies, to find the best contracts for everything from food to backhoes among the companies registered as suppliers.The adult probation department's deputy chief, Neil Stefanisko, said the new gear is needed because the current protective vests are reaching the ends of the effective life spans."All officers have body armor, but after so many years you have to update," he said.In other matters Wednesday, commissioners approved a contract with Shadow Technologies of Wilkes-Barre to upgrade existing hardware and for the renewal of Cisco hardware and software support services.The contract includes an extension for the remaining network devices and software covered under the Cisco Smartnet service beginning on Nov. 1, with most items covered until July, 31, 2020, for a cost of $73,351.40. The total cost of the agreement is $104,241.They also approved an amendment to an agreement with Waterware, Philadelphia, to perform a close inspection of Koenigs and Hosensock dams.The addition was to add a pipe plug and safety bulkhead materials at a cost of $1,395.