Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

911 System Progresses, Not Like TV Show

A 911 emergency telephone system will be a reality in Clark County, but the question is when.

Charles Bullard, addressing city and county officials Thursday, Jan. 18, said he is finished with two routes near Amity, and almost done with a third one.

Once this one is completed, he will turn his attention to the two routes near DeGray.

But Clark County Clerk Linda Franklin said she needs a reliable map before she can get serious on voter registration.

A group composed of Clark County Judge Grady Runyan, Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith, Jim Burns, the Clark County emergency services director, Franklin, Bullard and Clark County Sheriff Troy Tucker agreed there is a great need for an updated map with the 911 addresses on it.

It was proposed to put the map on computer, but Bullard said he doesn't have the funds in his budget.

Kenny Barnes, who was on hand to discuss the mapping problem, said he could computerize the map, use grid pages to make it easier for emergency personnel to find addresses and alphabetize the pages.

Burns said this is great, but the county must be able to plan for the future with it.

Barnes informed the panel he could set the map up in book form so it could easily be carried by emergency workers.

When questioned about a ball park figure on what such a map would cost, Barnes said he should be able to do it for $3,000 to $5,000.

Burns said Dallas County went to the Arkansas Transportation and Highway Department to help with the cost of their maps. However, he added there will be a monthly surplus collected on the 911 system after it meets its initial expenses. This, he continued, may be enough to pay for the mapping.

Barnes said an additional method of making money for the maps may be to sell them to the public.

The method Barnes proposed for making the maps is to scan Bullard's plans in and change them as needed on a CAD mapping program.

Bullard said the situation has arose where a person or family can't get phone service hooked up until they have their 911 address.

Franklin echoed this, saying other utilities and services are also requiring a 911 address before granting their services.

According to a county ordinance, residents must post their 911 addresses in three-inch numbers and letters where it can be seen. This means the addresses cannot be placed on a curb.

Smith said calls from Gurdon to the Clark County Sheriff's Office will be dispatched from the CCSO as they currently are.

However, he said, the City of Gurdon will continue to keep a dispatcher locally for the Gurdon Police Department.

"People expect something and want to know when 911 will be a reality," Smith said. "The people of Gurdon want more for their money than to just dial 911. They need to know what they're getting."

Burns said primarily nothing will change. The 911 system will make dispatching simpler for emergency service personnel. "The people will get a systematic dispatching system," he said. "They all dial 911 and get a quicker response with the systematic numbering and road naming system."

However, the people of Clark County need to remember the 911 emergency telephone system will not be like the television program.

Tucker said people may perceive the system to be like that on television and this could be a big problem.

This, he said, is because emergency personnel always arrive in the nick of time on the TV show, never get lost and save everyone.

The reality is this will not happen all the time. If addresses are not clearly marked, the emergency people will have problems finding the locations, and there will be times when the emergency personnel are not able to save a victim.

Burns said the dispatchers will not have to guess where calls are coming from because they will be flashed on a screen. This, he said, removes guesswork and makes for a faster response.

With the address being flashed on a screen, Tucker said this should help alleviate false alarms.

Burns said it is a felony offense to place a false 911 call.