Hello? Tornado calling...

[senorpepr]

From tornadoes to bomb scares, the threats are there. But few area communities have the newest technology to deal with them.

High-speed telephone notification systems that automatically call residents, alerting them to breaking news, are few and far between.

In the Akron-Canton area, only Stark County has the latest computerized gadget -- and its system is just a year old.

``Many communities are looking at it, but still determining whether it meets their needs,'' said spokesman Robert Glenn of the Ohio Federal Emergency Management Agency. ``They're intrigued.''

The exact number of counties and businesses, from hospitals to schools, that have some type of system isn't known, said Robert Cornwell, executive director of the Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association.

Sheriffs in all 88 Ohio counties already can notify residents by phone of a missing person, either child or adult, thanks to a service the sheriffs' association bought last year. The system is an early step that law enforcement can take before issuing an abduction Amber Alert to police, the public and media.

Yet broader systems that can notify residents of a much wider range of threats are burgeoning.

In Ohio, for example, Trumbull and Ashland counties and the Ohio State University Medical Center have telephone notification systems.

Stark County has used its system a handful of times in the last year, most recently during a fire at the Superior Dairy in Perry Township this month.

Recorded phone messages went out to almost 100 homes and businesses of a dangerous fire leaking anhydrous ammonia, a chemical used at the dairy's refrigeration system, said county EMA Director Rick Alatorre.

Calls were placed in about seven minutes, offering fairly elaborate advice to ``shelter in place,'' stay indoors and seal off fireplaces, doors and other areas that could let in potentially harmful drafts.

If the message had been shorter and to the point -- like ``get out'' -- the calls could have been relayed more quickly, said Joe Concatto, chief of staff for the Canton mayor's office.

The $58,000 system from Dialogic Communications Corp. of Franklin, Tenn., was something of a present for Stark County: Marathon Ashland Petroleum agreed to buy it as part of a settlement with the state over an oil spill.

The county costs also will be nil for coming years, said Concatto. The county's Council of Governments has agreed to pick up the yearly cost of the system's 18 dedicated phone lines.

Summit system planned

Meanwhile, Summit County is leasing a system from Twenty First Century Communications of Columbus that should be up by this summer.

The three-year contract will cost $61,000, and the system database will be composed largely of residential phone numbers at first, said Bob Scarlatelli, director of wireless communication for the county executive's office.

A handful of officials will be able to launch an alert for a specific area or for all of the county from the Tennessee company's 3,000 dedicated phone lines, but only for selected -- and as yet undetermined -- purposes.

``We want to keep it as an emergency system,'' said Annette Petranic, head of the county emergency management office. ``It won't be for parking bans or school closings.

Medina County is ramping up for a system too, said Buck Adams, director of emergency management.

The county is buying a $50,000 system from Dialogic that will perform a multitude of functions -- from doing automated checks on senior citizens to contacting small networks of people, such as the county's hazardous materials team, in the event of an emergency. The system should be operating by this summer.

Portage and Wayne county don't have the systems now, but officials are eyeing them.

John Wise, director of emergency management for Wayne County, wants a system to serve special populations -- day care, nursing homes, schools and the like. Smaller audiences seem like more manageable targets of telephone bulletins than the entire county, he said.

And Portage County is looking to buy a system from Dialogic yet this summer, said Mark Griffith, head of emergency management for the county.

Before the Sept. 11 attacks, residents questioned the need for the fast-response system, he said, but that's changed now.

``It was an expensive investment at the time, and what was going to be the benefit?'' he said. ``Now they know it's not going to sit there and collect dust.''

He said the county hopes to buy the $50,000 system out of this year's federal homeland security grant.

Drawbacks to systems

But the systems do have downsides.

One is that the system only calls publicly available numbers. If people with cell phones or unlisted numbers want to be included, they have to provide their numbers. Businesses aren't always part of the database, either. And if they are, their main business line may not accept prerecorded messages.

Counties that buy their own systems may find their phone lines clogged if they have to send out too many messages too quickly. One way to get around that is to lease the services from a call center or buy the services from the call center as needed during a crisis.

Finally, if the timeline to get to people is truly short -- just minutes in the case of an impending tornado -- the system may be of little use, although it would be better than nothing for folks who aren't tuned to the TV or radio.

Sometimes all options fall short, say emergency management officials -- even having police drive through neighborhoods yelling messages through bullhorns. People don't listen to the message on the loudspeaker and instead call police to find out what's going on, said Wise of Wayne County.

Nothing may surpass the obvious solution to crisis situations.

``People have to be aware of what's going on around them,'' he said. At this time of year, that can include watching the skies, tuning in to TV and, in some cases, listening for the phone.

[Guest]

From tornadoes to bomb scares, the threats are there. But few area communities have the newest technology to deal with them.

High-speed telephone notification systems that automatically call residents, alerting them to breaking news, are few and far between.

In the Akron-Canton area, only Stark County has the latest computerized gadget -- and its system is just a year old.

``Many communities are looking at it, but still determining whether it meets their needs,'' said spokesman Robert Glenn of the Ohio Federal Emergency Management Agency. ``They're intrigued.''

The exact number of counties and businesses, from hospitals to schools, that have some type of system isn't known, said Robert Cornwell, executive director of the Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association.

Sheriffs in all 88 Ohio counties already can notify residents by phone of a missing person, either child or adult, thanks to a service the sheriffs' association bought last year. The system is an early step that law enforcement can take before issuing an abduction Amber Alert to police, the public and media.

Yet broader systems that can notify residents of a much wider range of threats are burgeoning.

In Ohio, for example, Trumbull and Ashland counties and the Ohio State University Medical Center have telephone notification systems.

Stark County has used its system a handful of times in the last year, most recently during a fire at the Superior Dairy in Perry Township this month.

Recorded phone messages went out to almost 100 homes and businesses of a dangerous fire leaking anhydrous ammonia, a chemical used at the dairy's refrigeration system, said county EMA Director Rick Alatorre.

Calls were placed in about seven minutes, offering fairly elaborate advice to ``shelter in place,'' stay indoors and seal off fireplaces, doors and other areas that could let in potentially harmful drafts.

If the message had been shorter and to the point -- like ``get out'' -- the calls could have been relayed more quickly, said Joe Concatto, chief of staff for the Canton mayor's office.

The $58,000 system from Dialogic Communications Corp. of Franklin, Tenn., was something of a present for Stark County: Marathon Ashland Petroleum agreed to buy it as part of a settlement with the state over an oil spill.

The county costs also will be nil for coming years, said Concatto. The county's Council of Governments has agreed to pick up the yearly cost of the system's 18 dedicated phone lines.

Summit system planned

Meanwhile, Summit County is leasing a system from Twenty First Century Communications of Columbus that should be up by this summer.

The three-year contract will cost $61,000, and the system database will be composed largely of residential phone numbers at first, said Bob Scarlatelli, director of wireless communication for the county executive's office.

A handful of officials will be able to launch an alert for a specific area or for all of the county from the Tennessee company's 3,000 dedicated phone lines, but only for selected -- and as yet undetermined -- purposes.

``We want to keep it as an emergency system,'' said Annette Petranic, head of the county emergency management office. ``It won't be for parking bans or school closings.

Medina County is ramping up for a system too, said Buck Adams, director of emergency management.

The county is buying a $50,000 system from Dialogic that will perform a multitude of functions -- from doing automated checks on senior citizens to contacting small networks of people, such as the county's hazardous materials team, in the event of an emergency. The system should be operating by this summer.

Portage and Wayne county don't have the systems now, but officials are eyeing them.

John Wise, director of emergency management for Wayne County, wants a system to serve special populations -- day care, nursing homes, schools and the like. Smaller audiences seem like more manageable targets of telephone bulletins than the entire county, he said.

And Portage County is looking to buy a system from Dialogic yet this summer, said Mark Griffith, head of emergency management for the county.

Before the Sept. 11 attacks, residents questioned the need for the fast-response system, he said, but that's changed now.

``It was an expensive investment at the time, and what was going to be the benefit?'' he said. ``Now they know it's not going to sit there and collect dust.''

He said the county hopes to buy the $50,000 system out of this year's federal homeland security grant.

Drawbacks to systems

But the systems do have downsides.

One is that the system only calls publicly available numbers. If people with cell phones or unlisted numbers want to be included, they have to provide their numbers. Businesses aren't always part of the database, either. And if they are, their main business line may not accept prerecorded messages.

Counties that buy their own systems may find their phone lines clogged if they have to send out too many messages too quickly. One way to get around that is to lease the services from a call center or buy the services from the call center as needed during a crisis.

Finally, if the timeline to get to people is truly short -- just minutes in the case of an impending tornado -- the system may be of little use, although it would be better than nothing for folks who aren't tuned to the TV or radio.

Sometimes all options fall short, say emergency management officials -- even having police drive through neighborhoods yelling messages through bullhorns. People don't listen to the message on the loudspeaker and instead call police to find out what's going on, said Wise of Wayne County.

Nothing may surpass the obvious solution to crisis situations.

``People have to be aware of what's going on around them,'' he said. At this time of year, that can include watching the skies, tuning in to TV and, in some cases, listening for the phone.

Intresting read here especially seeing how this affects counties just to the north of me and in the same NWS coverage area as me. Too bad i didnt see anything on there listed for Knox county(me), or Ashland nor Richland(Mansfield) counties. Which brings me to one of my biggest complaint's about the NWS here (Cleveland)as it ALWAYS seems that they can care less about the counties in thier southern most zone which is the ones i listed along with Holmes and Morrow counties as well. Main focus is and has always been Cleveland metro area yet places like Mansfield (Richland County)has a population of over a 100,000! Just doesnt add up.