Sorty I can't help you with the radio stuff but I must say, I like the town of Cherokee Pass. The name sounds like it belongs to a town in New Mexico, not MO. I have been through Cherokee Pass quite a bit and usually make a pit stop at the gas station right off Hwy 67. For years they had an old white metal bedpan outside the main door filled with sand to put cigarette butts in. Always gave a me a chuckle.
It makes me wonder why such a small and very rural area of MO would go through the expense of getting radios that are so hard to monitor. That must be very frustrating to all the volunteer personel in the area that now, for the most part, can't even monitor their own calls. Does not sound progressive to me.