reverse 911 system is not *really* 911 in reverse

November 15, 2007 at 6:29 pm | Posted in Barnstable DPW, barnstable, barnstable town council, barnstable water company, hyannis, hyannis water, phone notification sytem, reverse 911 | 17 Comments
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Throughout the news coverage of our water crisis of this past Veteran’s Day weekend, there has been a media obsession with what some term as a “reverse 911 system.”

I watched as channel 5′s Amalia Baretta delivered the news about the tests coming back clean, as a small part of a report about how residents in Hyannis were unhappy that the town “didn’t use it’s reverse 911 system.”

This name, reverse 911, is misleading. Aparently there is a company that offers a phone service that is called Reverse 911, but the name insinuates that a town or county’s 911 service can be used in reverse to notify residents of a crisis or disaster.

This is not true.  These are privately contracted companies that sell services that will set up and make these calls. 

Our town is engaged with a trial of the Connect CTY company’s services.

No contract has been signed, and the system is just in a trial mode.  It was used during a simulated hospital emergency, but most of our management staff has yet to be trained in the system. This would all be part of us signing a contract and fully engaging the services for $60,000 a year.  There are all kinds of kinks that have to be ironed out.

Again, only a handful of communities have hired these companies.  Our school system has an independent contract with a program designed specifically for schools.

Of course, after so many people expected the town to use such a system, we will now consider expediting a contract and training and will be one of the few towns in this area to have such a program available.


17 Comments »

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  1. I saw your meeting tonight.
    Thank you for the information.

    Comment by Maria — November 16, 2007 #

  2. Julius looked like a fool tonight! He was up there with his today real estate jacket on with his ugly mop of hair looking like an real fool. You guys have to know that from my living room he really looked like an idiot.

    If he was there tonight when Ells and the others answered questions then it was obvious the jerk wasn;t listening! He was just there to put on a performance for his pajama king and the rest of those clowns that follow that whole head game koolaid drinking cult.

    Most important is that you all need to know that he just looked like a fool.

    Boy, I would love to meet that guy some day.

    Comment by Anonymous — November 16, 2007 #

  3. This is all well and good, but I still don’t feel like I should drink this water from the tap, or use it to wash my salad stuff.
    Do things like Britta Filter Systems work for this stuff?

    Comment by tomorrowschild — November 16, 2007 #

  4. Someone posted a comment about filters on one of the previous posts.

    I personally won’t drink water from a tap anywhere, ever, and not because of possible E.coli contamination.

    We have two people in my neighborhood with brain cancer. We have lost too many friends and family on Cape Cod to breast cancer. I just don’t trust water after all the issues with plumes and learning about the single source aquifer here on the Cape.

    Soda water is great!

    My daughters, in an effort to get us to stop using plastic water bottles, tried to convince us to set up a filter system. But my husband and I still wonder if filters will clear out whatever has made it into the aquifer that might cause cancer etc..

    I florida we won’t even make coffee from the tap water in the town we stay in. It tastes horrible.

    We are bottled water people all the way.

    Comment by JSJ — November 16, 2007 #

  5. Janet, did it ever occur to you that you have NO CLUE what the heck you are talking about? And this site is as comical as you. The only one who comments here is YOU, under various names that you make up. You need help Janet…

    Comment by John Julius — November 16, 2007 #

  6. John, thanks for commenting on this blog, along with Sylvia Doiran, Brad Ouimette, TJ, Sandy, and all the others.
    I DO comment on my blog and when that is done, my avatar and signature/email link are clearly present. That is the way this blog is set up.
    I DO edit comments, and will even delete comments before approving them, if there is anything that might be libelous, inflamatory, or against WordPress’s TOS.

    I am happy to hear this site might give you a laugh, that is something most of us have yet to see from you.

    Comment by JSJ — November 16, 2007 #

  7. Schwaab put this up on his blog, he thinks that water tests were manipulated to make him lose the election:

    “Like most towns, water can be very political. While some questions are still unanswered it appears at this time that the timing and public release of water test results may have been manipulated to ensure an election victory for a right-wing religious zealot who had the support of a tax-deadbeats within the Town of Barnstable’s business community.

    This story is still unfolding and we will be posting letters written to the Barnstable Police Department, the DPU, The Secretary of State and the State Democratic Committee.”

    What the heck is that all about?
    When will this guy get the hint?
    People didn’t buy his lies and style.
    Back to Boston Bugsy!!

    Comment by hyport — November 16, 2007 #

  8. Mr. Julius,
    What part of you LOST! Don’t you get?
    No one but a handful of fellow nutjobs buys your swill. Am I speaking a language you UNDERSTAND?

    YOU LOST! SCWAB LOST! DORIAN LOST! THOMAN LOST!

    Take the hint! Stick to your own little audience of crazies. No one here is interested in your dribble.

    Be a man of your word AND STOP SHOWING UP ON COUNCIL MEETINGS ON TV! You look like a FOOL!

    Comment by Anonymous — November 16, 2007 #

  9. I am wondering if we could ignore the hate bloggers who don’t read this blog but comment on this blog….. (just deleted a post from Julius that had to many expletives and nothing new)

    I am wondering if anyone who reads this might be interested in giving some feedback, either by emailing me or leaving comments, about whether we should be contracting with this company for 60K a year…..

    Thanks
    jj

    Comment by JSJ — November 16, 2007 #

  10. Yes

    Comment by Anonymous — November 16, 2007 #

  11. I just got a series of emails from people who are concerned about things posted on hate blogs.

    I am not going to address Lopez’s stuff, I don’t intend to read it and wish people would stop reading what he has to say.

    On the other hand, there are some posts on Schwaab’s blog that seem to have people worried.

    I don’t know exactly what he is getting at, but he claims to have somehow uncovered the identities of people who have posted comments on his blogs and other blogs by “tracing” and cross-checking IP’s.

    This is not possible. The only way to actually identify someone in this way is to supena the company that hosts the IP. I know about this from experience in a previous job. This has not changed and any inquiry to a cable or Internet connection service will get you that response.

    As a matter of fact, that information is often posted on help pages or terms of service.

    He is apparently blaming people for posting things on blogs that might have cost him the election — I think if I am following the logic which is rather hard to understand – and has actually written a letter to the town manager, which is posted on the blog (edited from the original version actually sent to the manager) asking him not to “certify” the election.

    Someone needs to explain to him that we elect a town clerk, who is independent of the manager.

    The manager doesn’t perform these tasks.

    HE is also asking that the police look into “cyber hate-crimes.”

    What?

    Shall we ask them to start with the racial and ethnic slurs or sexist comments on the blog he owns and set up for Gary Lopez?

    We don’t have to go looking for supena’s for those comments, they were signed, sealed and delivered.

    This guy is losing it. He lost the election now he is grasping at straws. Lets just let him lose it on his own, while we move on.

    The message is that, despite what appears to be lines drawn from IP numbers to me to blame me for posting something, or authoring something, or whatever … are not based in fact. What I have written is — here –on this blog, and signed by me.

    JJ

    Comment by JSJ — November 16, 2007 #

  12. read my blog post on John Julius letter in the Barnstable Patriot

    http://barnstablebeat.blogspot.com

    Comment by TJ — November 17, 2007 #

  13. Thanks TJ – these guys loose crediblity with every post they create, and every comment they make whether it is at a meeting, in the newspaper or on a hate blog.

    I think we all need to ignore lopez now … lets all just assume he went “off the air” when he said he would.

    As far as Julius and Schwaab, Schwaab will dribble on for a while until it actually occurs to him that it was no one’s fault but his own that he lost the election. He apparently will be continuing to cause problems for staff and councilors with the assistance of the councilor who wants to be mayor.

    And, Julius is the one who shows us all what they are really about. Ignoring him might not be the answer but we can try. In the mean time he is a wonderful example of who these people are and how they operate.

    Comment by JSJ — November 17, 2007 #

  14. Janet, I think we should absolutely ignore the hate group. They seem to feed off of us. If they post, we should act as if it doesn’t exist. Obviously in your capacity as Town Council President, you are not afforded the luxury of completely ignoring them, but I would stick to relevant material and ignore the hate. Unfortunately from my dealings with Thoman over the past 2 years, ignoring doesn’t matter, she persists like a disease. But it gives me far more credibility to ignore. I hope everyone will be on board with this. They can continue to talk to themselves. After a while of nobody listening to them, they’ll probably bump it up a notch and get themselves in trouble-let’s let them self implode and live our lives free of hate!

    Comment by Christine Howell — November 17, 2007 #

  15. This morning I took a break from work and found two more comments from Julius full of hate and lies and attacking people who are not even involved in any of the curent discussions.

    I did not approve the comments and won’t allow that kind of discussion on this blog. He will spout off on Schaab and Lopez’s blog and so be it.

    I am going to create one more post regarding these guys and then ask that the other blogs take over the discussion.

    thanks

    Comment by JSJ — November 17, 2007 #

  16. Christine is right but can we ignore them when so many believe them?

    Comment by TJ — November 17, 2007 #

  17. To all that have been involved and asking the same question that Janet has asked. “Should we ignore?”
    This is a very small group of people that want us all to think they are in the majority. The simple fact is that this is how they live their lives. I have the misfortune of living right next door to Taryn Thoman and her husband(?) Dennis Wilcox. To them this is productive and correct behavior. To us, we cannot begin to understand them nor should we try. To them this is a fix and we are the drug. Would you be helping an alcoholic by giving them money and a ride to the package store? We are enableing their behavior. If we are not there to particiapte, the drug is gone. And what happens when an addict goes into withdrawls? They get desperate and look for other things to get their fix. In this case they will self implode. Mentally they cannot stop. If we were to look into their family histories, what do you think we would find? We would find the exact same behaviors. Our mission has been accomplished. NONE of these people got elected. The fact that they did NOT get elected goes far beyond us and directly to the voters of our town who were smart enough to see through the b/s. There is talk about recalls, conspiricy theories, false water tests and the list goes on and on. When all that fails, someone will suggest that the planets were not properly aligned causing a disturbance in the air quality causing people to incorrectly vote. The solution is simple for all of us, just STOP. Do not log on to their sites. Do not post anything about them on sites. As you said Janet “let some other site take it on. If only one team shows up there cannot be a game. To those of you that hold elected positions or are in the spot-light I would say, that your work in our town is far more important then waisting time dealing with them. Consider the source(s), never change who you are and remember “SMILE” because they hate it when they see someone smiling…..

    Comment by Ron — November 17, 2007 #


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