Village to test alert system

By Diane Chiddister

Most villagers can expect a call at 11 a.m. this Saturday, April 22, and it won’t be from a telemarketer, or a friend wanting to chat.

Rather, local residents will receive a recorded message from Yellow Springs police dispatcher Randall Newsome, who will be testing the Village’s CodeRED system.

CodeRED is an emergency notification high-speed telephone communication system that will enable the Police Department to notify villagers quickly about emergencies.

Capable of making 50,000 calls in one hour, the system uses a database that will call residents and play a prerecorded message.

Police Chief John Grote said CodeRED might be used in such circumstances as a tornado warning (not a watch), water-boil alert, power outage or truck spill.

The system provides the capability to contact all villagers or to select isolated areas of Yellow Springs to contact.

“We’re hoping it’s an efficient way to get information out in a hurry,” Grote said.

Although CodeRED has been in place about a year, Grote said, it has not yet been used and Saturday’s event is its first test.

While most villagers will receive a call on Saturday, some might not, since the database is still being developed.

The system’s database includes the majority of Yellow Springers who have a landline phone.

Residents may add a business, cellphone or other numbers to the database by logging on to www.yso.com/police/codered.html. Residents without Internet access may submit additional numbers to the system at the Yellow Springs Library.

According to a press release from the Police Department, in order to alert specific areas of the village, the dispatcher will pull up a map of Yellow Springs on the CodeRED Web site and highlight the areas that need to be notified. The dispatcher will then call an 800 number and record the message that will be sent, which is then sent to the CodeRED headquarters. The CodeRED headquarters is responsible for sending the message to the targeted area.

CodeRED, which was purchased by former Village Manager Rob Hillard, costs the Village about $2,000 per year, according to Grote.

The Police Department emphasized that villagers should not be alarmed by this Saturday’s test, and that CodeRED will only be used in critical situations.