IMPLEMENTATION OF E-911 SYSTEM RIGHT ON SCHEDULE

JACKSON -- Personnel associated with a plan to implement Enhanced 911 in Cape Girardeau County are gathering address information from rural county residents.

Ron Andrews, director of data processing for the county, said Wednesday that ETG Inc. of Overland Park, Kan. will complete the rural addressing portion of the project.

Cape Girardeau County voters a year ago approved Enhanced 911, and on Nov. 16, ETG workers began collecting address data from residents in the rural part of the county. That work will continue for the next three to four months throughout the county, Andrews said.

The data collection process began in the northwest part of the county and will progress southward until the project is completed.

If no one is home, a red door hanger will be left requesting the resident call the phone number printed on the card and provide the needed information, Andrews said.

He said that to date, implementation of Enhanced 911 telephone service is right on schedule.

"Things are going well," he said. "The citizens out there are cooperating really well in helping us get the information we need.

"We want people to know that we are out there knocking on their doors."

Enhanced 911, which will enable more efficient and rapid response to 911 emergency telephone calls, must be operational by November 1993.

In rural Cape Girardeau County, all Enhanced 911 calls will be routed through the sheriff's office. Cape Girardeau and Jackson calls will be sent to those cities' police departments.

Because the system will require computer upgrades, Andrews said the county also will look at ways to improve rural fire department response and service.

"We hope to have all the equipment and data in line to have the system operational in September or October to give us a chance to test it," he added.

For additional information on Enhanced 911, contact Andrews at 243-5303.