- 31 Dec 2008 -

All too often we neglect to blow our own horn because, as Lincom 911 staff, we are used to being the consumate professionals; do the right thing and press on... If there were ever any doubt that we are very proud of our staff; we would like at this time to publicly acknowledge them for their great work and attention to detail. Yesterday's "Special Delivery" was another fine example this year of how well our team performs daily under pressure. Great Job Staff & Thank You for all that you do!!

As advertised, click here to submit your cell or IP based phone number and address information to us. Please make sure to read the directions and disclaimer before submitting your data.

We successfully finished up preliminary testing of the voice messaging yesterday afternoon after running about 5000 phone calls in two days through the mill. Our thanks to all of you that provided feedback on the CallerID (or lack of one) issue; a fix is in work, the ID should come across soon as "Emergency 911". As to the two second pause after you pick up the receiver, that is the time it takes for the computer to recognize whether or not an anwsering machine, fax or human is on the line. Overall the response has been overwhelmingly positive and greatly appreciated; our goal after all is to provide the best service possible. As always there is more to come, look for continued updates! Happy Holidays from us here at Lincom to all

PRESS RELEASE

LinCom Begins Final Testing of Reverse 911

Lincoln County Communications Agency (LinCom 911) will be conducting testing of our Mass Calling Program beginning 01 Dec 2008 and ending 05 Dec 2008. The Mass Calling feature in Reverse 911 will enable LinCom 911's dispatch staff to call selected or all affected communities within Lincoln County and notify them of any emergent situation.  It is not our intent to call every home or business phone number in Lincoln County during this test, just a cross-section of communities which will ensure that the data we have in our system is accurate and the system performs as advertised.  A typical test call will say “This is a test of Lincoln County Communications Agency’s’ Reverse 911 system, this is only a test” typically repeated three times.  After each test is transmitted LinCom will be able to track the accuracy of system data and whether or not households were contacted. In the event of a real emergency the recording will pass a short message regarding the type and severity of the emergency and the recommended course of action to take.  LinCom’s Director Rich Glasgow, says that there may a 1-2 second pause after you answer before the recording “kicks in” this is the time it takes for the system to recognize you or an anwsering machine then activate the message. There will be no need to call back 911 or our business lines as LinCom will have the data indicating the success or failure of each test.
The Mass Calling feature was funded through LinCom 911’s budget and will enhance LinCom’s ability to continue to provide the most up-to-date emergency communications throughout Lincoln County. Mr. Glasgow appreciates everyone’s patience during the test period and expects the testing to be successful.  He expects to have this system on line and running by 09 Dec 2008.  The Mass Calling system is primarily geared towards wired residential and business phones, not VOIP or cell phones. Once testing is complete, those with cell phones wishing to be contacted based on their residence location will be able to submit their information to enroll in this service through a link on our website (Look for a new button next to Link called "R911"). Mr.Glasgow will be presenting an introduction to Reverse 911 at the Chamber of Commerce Luncheon (Hallmark Inn) on 12 Dec, in addition he will be on KKNPT AM 1310 “Chamber in Action” on 15 Dec at 8:30am, again talking about R-911. As always, thank you for your continued interest and stay tuned for updates.

Overcoming roadblocks has been the theme of this month. We have finished the install, migrated all of the Lincoln County land line phone numbers and started testing our ability to send broadcast messages to our public safety officers. We will be ready to receive cellphone inputs from the public by the first part of December. Keep an eye on our site for information on release times; there will be more media coverage in the near future...

We have been through the training and are in final stages of system configuration. There have been a few setbacks (mapping files not in correct format, phone list needed some work, etc) but all in all the process has been fairly streamlined. Once we have completed the final steps we will begin testing thoroughly and then announcing the systems arrival to Lincoln County. Listen on 24 October 2008 between 6 and 8 a.m. at radio stations KCUP 1230 AM and 100.7 KPPT FM radio dial for an up and coming interview with our Director, Rich Glasgow, for more news and information...

The equipment is installed and awaiting connection to our phone provider. the local area maps and available phone numbers will be added by Reverse 911 once they have completed data inspection.

NOTE:

If you have an unlisted number or use your cell phone or VOIP line as your primary number, you will NOT receive emergency notifcation via Reverse 911 unless you request your number be added. Once we have our Reverse 911 system up and running their will be a webpage added to allow those entries and the local media will be notified

Implementation date is expected to be mid fourth quarter this year, hopefully before the winter storms kick in. As always keep checking back for more information!