The Coshocton County Beacon January 8, 2020 | Page 6

Sheriff’s office hopes to add texting to 911 in 2020 COSHOCTON – The Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office hopes to add true texting to 911 this year. Currently, texting to 911 is not yet active in Coshocton County. There is some equipment that the sheriff’s office would need to purchase before they are able to offer true texting to residents of the county. As part of the Next Gen- eration Plan (NG911), true texting to 911 can be activated, although NG911 is still going through legislation. According to www.911.gov, NG911 “…will enhance emergency number services to create a faster, more resilient system that allows voice, photos, videos and text messages to flow seamlessly from the public to the 911 network.” Once NG911 has passed and becomes law, a five-year period is implemented to allow counties to join into the state’s program. The sheriff’s office installed a new system that has them one step closer to true texting to 911 in the county. Zurker was installed on Dec. 17, 2019. With this new system, any caller to 911 can receive a link texted back to their cell phone that can then alert dispatchers to their exact location. “It will be really helpful with the lost hunters we get,” said Troy Bricker, communication sergeant in charge of 911 call center. “We get a lot of lost hunters at Woodbury and Muskingum Water Shed. If they have enough service to make that phone call, we can send them a link. They can click on or respond to it, and it will feed us real-time GPS co-ordinance that we can give out to search and rescue teams.” The link also provides pictures to deputies of the caller’s surroundings so they can forward that information on to responders. “We are very excited to go to this new computer system,” said Captain Dean Hettinger. “Many of the features, the people on the streets may not notice, but it will definitely enhance not only their ability to communicate with us but to get officers, EMS and fire in a more timely response.” Zurker has other added features such as computers in cruisers with mapping, officers have a routing option that will route them to a call, and dispatchers can see where their cruisers are located which allows them to dispatch to the closest unit. 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Marczewski Law Offices 1020 Maple Ave., Zanesville (next to Dr. Adornetto) 740-453-8900 | www.zanesvillelawyer.com Whenever the county decides to go to true texting, Zu- rker has a team that will give on-the-job training. As other functionalities become implemented, they will support training. Once the legislation for NG911 passes, Zurker has the technology that is compatible with any new up- grades and additions needed. When the county adds true texting, Hettinger believes there will be some benefits. “I think it will at this point be minimal,” said Hettinger. “There are some people who may be hearing impaired that will benefit from it, but most of those folks already have cer- tain applications and already have the ability to contact 911.” “When somebody has to really text 911, they’ll really need to use it so having that ability will be important,” said Bricker. In 2018, more than 26,000 calls came through dispatch. Some of those may have benefitted officers had they been texts instead of calls. “Sometimes you see it in domestic situations where mom and dad are fighting and the kid’s kind of afraid to talk, so they’ll call 911 and we’ll get an open line,” said Hettinger. “When we get an open line, we’ll try to call them back. If nobody answers, we send an officer out to check on it. The texting to 911 will probably save some time in situations where someone can text if they can’t talk or if they feel compromised to talk. We’ll get better data right away opposed to going into a situation blind.” RSVP for upcoming visit days at COTC NEWARK - Whether you want to move into a new career or advance in your current field, you can boost your earning potential by earning a two-year degree, one-year certif- icate or short-term certificate at Central Ohio Technical College (COTC). With hands-on programs designed to give you the skills needed for immediate employment after graduation the proof is in COTC’s graduate success – 92 percent of recent COTC graduates were employed in their field of study within six months of graduation. Learn about COTC’s more than 50 associate degree and certificate programs at go.cotc.edu/discover. Take the next step for your career and register for an upcoming visit day in healthcare or human services. You’ll meet with faculty, visit classrooms and labs, take a campus tour, and learn how COTC’s small class sizes and personal support can help you succeed no matter when you were last in a classroom. Register at go.cotc.edu/visit. Dates don’t work for you or interested in other pro- grams? Check COTC’s visit page for additional visit days throughout the year, or schedule a one-on-one meeting with an admissions representative at any of COTC’s four campus locations: Newark, Coshocton, Knox and Pataskala. Call or e-mail the COTC Office of Admissions at 740-366-9222 or [email protected]. Campus visit dates are: COTC Healthcare Career Cam- pus Visit - Friday, Jan. 17 and 31, Friday, Feb. 7 and 21, 1 to 3 p.m., COTC Newark campus, Hopewell Hall, room 53, 1189 University Drive, Newark, Ohio 43055; COTC Human Services Career Campus Visit, Thursday, Feb. 6, 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., COTC Newark cam- pus, John L. and Christine Warner Library and Student Cen- ter, room 175, 1219 University Drive, Newark, Ohio 43055. Contributed | Beacon www.coshoctonbeacontoday.com JANUARY 8, 2020