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by
Cathy
St.
Clair
News
Editor
With
final
testing
and
installation
of
computer
systems
and
DSL
lines
nearing
completion
at
the
Buchanan
County
E-911
center,
it
won’t
be
long
until
the
new
E-911
system
is
up
and
running.
In
fact,
E-911
Coordinator
Greg
Clevinger
said
he
hopes
the
transition
is
so
seamless
that
the
only
difference
emergency
callers
will
notice
is
in
the
words
used
to
answer
the
phone.
“Instead
of
“Buchanan
County
Sheriff’s
Department,”
callers
may
soon
expect
to
hear
“Buchanan
County
911.
What’s
your
emergency?”
“We
will
try
to
make
it
as
seamless
as
possible,”
Clevinger
said,
noting
the
day
Verizon
flips
the
switch
to
change
over
the
service
routing
is
likely
to
be
by
no
later
than
the
first
week
in
November.
Three
dispatchers
have
been
hired
and
will
work
with
seven
others
already
working
for
the
sheriff’s
department
on
alternating
shifts
so
that
the
new
E-911
center
is
manned
24
hours
a
day,
seven
days
a
weeks.
Four
stations
are
set
up
in
the
Public
Safety
Answering
Point,
or
PSAP
office
of
the
E-911
office
complex
on
Slate
Creek.
Four
emergency
lines
have
been
established
and
those
roll
over
automatically
meaning
emergency
callers,
unless
there
is
a
catastrophe,
should
never
get
a
busy
signal.
The
number
of
emergency
lines
to
be
installed
was
determined
based
on
a
recommended
average
of
one
line
per
12,000
people
and
the
system
has
been
constructed
to
allow
for
future
potential
growth.
“We
feel
this
county
will
grow,
so
we
put
in
two
more,”
Clevinger
said.
All
calls
are
recorded.
Each
station
has
four
separate
screens
surrounding
the
operator.
One
is
a
phone
system
screen;
another
is
a
CAD
screen;
another
is
a
mapping
screen;
and
the
fourth
is
a
radio
screen.
“What
this
system
can
do
is
unreal,”
Clevinger
said.
The
systems
are
costly,
at
about
$386,000
for
all
four.
Two
stations
will
operate
at
all
times,
with
the
other
two
used
as
back-up
stations.
When
callers
dial
in
with
an
emergency,
even
the
ring
tone
on
the
phone
will
be
different.
The
system
can
distinguish
between
administrative
calls
and
emergency
calls,
because
of
the
numbers
dialed.
A
normal
ring
tone
will
sound
for
administrative
calls,
but
the
ring
tone
for
emergency
calls,
Clevinger
said,
demonstrating
the
sound,
will
definitely
get
the
attention
of
operators
there
to
handle
calls
and
anyone
else
who
happens
to
be
in
the
area
as
well.
The
ring
tone
chosen
is
a
Tarzan
jungle
yell.
It’s
definitely
an
attention
getter,
Clevinger
said.
When a caller dials in
for
emergency
reasons,
the
computer
screens
in
front
of
the
operator
will
automatically
pop
up
with
an
i.d.
of
where
the
call
is
coming
from
and
from
there,
a
key
stroke
or
two
later,
the
E-911
operator
has
the
ability
to
pull
up
information
on
the
location
which
will
tell
that
operator
everything
he
or
she
needs
to
know
about
where
the
dispatch
assistance
is
needed
--
from
what
established
emergency
service
zone
help
needs
to
be
dispatched,
to
other
information
about
the
household
which
the
household
turned
in
when
completing
its
emergency
cards
earlier
in
the
E-911
process.
If
the
caller
was
specific
when
he
or
she
filled
out
his
or
her
card,
then
the
computer
will
even
alert
emergency
personnel
to
special
needs
such
as
the
caller
is
diabetic,
takes
certain
medications
or
is
in
a
wheelchair.
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