GREENPORT–Columbia County will use its CodeRED Emergency Notification System Friday, February 1 to conduct a test by calling all the registered phone numbers in the county.
The calls will be placed in the morning beginning at 10 a.m. and will continue until the entire database has been attempted. This call will give county personnel the chance to operate the system as if there had been an emergency.
The message that is being delivered directs recipients to the county website to add additional contact numbers, and it also asks that recipients spread the word by mentioning the system to family, friends and neighbors.
Columbia County Emergency Management Office is advising residents of Columbia County that if they receive the call from the Columbia County Emergency Notification System they are already registered and DO NOT need to call. The calls will be ongoing for the next few hours. If they do not receive the call then they can call or go online and register at www.columbiacountyny.com.
Patrick Grattan, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, suggests in a release from Columbia County Emergency Management that “all individuals and businesses should take the time to visit our website and add contact information to include cellular phones and other non-traditional phones as well as email and text addresses. If your contact information is not in the database you will not receive a call when an urgent message is sent.”
Officials emphasize that businesses should register as well as individuals who have unlisted phone numbers, who have changed their phone number recently, and those who use a cellular phone exclusively or have VoIP phones (such as Vonage) as their primary numbers.
Mr. Grattan urges citizens to log onto the county website at www.columbiacountyny.com and follow the CodeRED link at the top of the page. Those without Internet access should call 518 828-1212 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 518 828-1263 anytime. Required information includes a street address (physical address, no P.O. boxes) for location purposes and a primary phone number. Additional phone numbers, email and text addresses may also be entered.
More information about the CodeRED system is on the county website.
Questions should be directed to the Columbia County Emergency Management Office, 518 828-1212 or Columbia County 911 Center at 518 828-1263.
