NEW E-911 SYSTEM ON LINE IN AREA

MORLEY -- Scott County Presiding Commissioner Bob Kielhofner called the new enhanced-911 service Thursday.

But it wasn't an emergency and the call didn't go far.

Kielhofner placed the call just after 2 p.m. from the E-911 center at Morley to mark the official startup of the emergency telephone service in Scott County.

Earlier in the day, New Madrid County unveiled an identical system at its E-911 center at the airport in Marston.

Kielhofner said the "common-sense" service should benefit Scott County residents in times of emergencies.

A number of law enforcement officials and emergency personnel attended the dedication ceremony.

Donna Burk, area manager for Southwestern Bell, praised the new system.

With the system, a computer screen instantly displays the name and address of the resident of the home or business from which the emergency call is made. The computer screen also displays the various emergency services that serve that particular location. That way, an E-911 dispatcher knows immediately which fire department to page in case of a fire, for example.

"This is all about making your job easier and helping to save lives," Burk said.

Jim Mauk serves as director of the E-911 centers in both Scott and New Madrid counties.

"Time is of the essence when dealing with emergency situations," he said. "Having this enhanced service in our area is invaluable because of the address-display capabilities," said Mauk.

He said the equipment will reduce response time for police, ambulances and other emergency services.

"We will be able to provide an accurate location from which the call was placed in the event the caller is unable to tell us where they are," he said.

In emergencies, people often panic. They give the wrong address, said Joe Burton, Scott County's emergency management director and supervisor of the E-911 center at Morley.

Scott County's system serves all of the county except for the cities of Sikeston and Scott City. Those two cities have their own 911 systems.

Burton said there are still some bugs to be worked out with the new E-911 system. "We've got some problems with addressing, but we will get them fixed," he said after the ceremony.

As part of the E-911 system, residents along rural roads had to be given new addresses.

Some of the addresses are wrong and others haven't been placed in the computer data base yet, Burton said. It could be a month before all the addresses are stored in the computer system, he said.

Burton said people shouldn't rush to change their addresses on checks and letterheads just yet.

People should wait at least 60 to 90 days to allow the county's E-911 personnel time to verify addresses are correct, he said.

Scott County residents who have questions about their new addresses should contact the E-911 office at 262-2070.

Seven full-time dispatchers will handle the calls at the Scott County center and five full-time dispatchers will man the New Madrid center.

Both centers have backup computers at other sites. Scott County's backup answering site is at the Miner Police Department. In New Madrid, the backup site is at the Portageville Police Department.

The Scott County center is housed in the emergency management building along Highway 61 in Morley.

Kielhofner said the county bought the former state highway department building about 10 years ago.

"We used it for our own highway department," he said. Some of the property is still used for county road operations, but the building has been remodeled for the use of the emergency management and E-911 offices.

The New Madrid and Scott County E-911 systems are funded with a telephone tax. Phone customers have been paying the surcharge for the past two years.

Mauk said the tax brings in about $140,000 a year in New Madrid County and about $175,000 a year in Scott County.

Scott and New Madrid counties each spent about $50,000 to $60,000 on the necessary equipment for the E-911 systems. Burton estimated it would cost $190,000 to $200,000 a year to operate the Scott County center.

He said the revenue likely won't keep pace with expenses initially. But he said the county has a start-up surplus to draw upon. He said he hopes the tax base would increase in future years to cover the costs.