Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe is making an arms deal to get rid of obsolete weapons and ammunition.

Slupe is trading 22 .357-caliber and .38-caliber revolvers and corresponding ammunition no longer used by his office.

In return for the $17,840 worth of guns and bullets, the Officer Store will provide three patrol rifles, new ammunition and five new Tasers with accessories.

The old guns became obsolete when retired Sheriff Dennis Rickard standardized firearms for deputies. All county deputies now use .40-caliber Glocks.

The Butler County commissioners on Wednesday approved the exchange.

DJ office site

The county commissioners on Wednesday moved a step closer to constructing a new district court in Cranberry Township.

The commissioners approved seeking requests from proposals for both engineering and architectural services.

The county bought roughly an acre at 9028 Marshall Road to build a 3,200-square-foot structure estimated to cost $700,000.

For 2013, the county is paying a total of $71,651 in rent for office space at the current district court site on Executive Drive.

County officials expect annual payments on borrowing for the construction project to be less than the rent.