| Author |
Message |
    
Bret N. Walda
Citizen
Username: Bret_n_walda
Post Number: 1
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 - 10:22 am: |     |
The latest issue of the Maplewood town newsletter announced that the Township has retained the services of a private vendor, CodeRED, to auto-call town residents in the event of unspecified emergencies. Two questions arise:
1. Will individual citizens already weary of losing control of their privacy and personally-identifiable information to various government agencies with a lousy history of safeguarding that info and private vendors eager to build marketable databases be able to opt out and instruct the Township to refrain from providing CodeRED (whose website contains no mention of a privacy policy) their names, addresses and/or phone numbers?
2. Why, when Maplewood citizens struggle under the most absurd tax burden this side of Scandinavia (three months of taxes in Mwood = a year in more sane parts of the country) and emergency info is already available from a host of federal, state and other sources, did the Township decide to march off and blow a bundle of our cash on a contract with CodeRED?
In all fairness, I have heretofore paid little attention to Township meetings, so a past request for public comment on retaining CodeRED may have slipped past me. |
just me fromsouthorange
Citizen
Username: Jmfromsorange
Post Number: 732
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 - 10:37 am: | |
why is maplewood in a code red when the rest of the area is still a code ORANGE? there was just a news report about it being code ORANGE on all the networks!
so does maplewood gov. know something homeland security doesn't? and what in maplewood is expected to be attacked? |
optimyst
Citizen
Username: Optimyst
Post Number: 85
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 - 11:00 am: | |
Just Me,
Please read the initial post carefully.
It says Maplewood has hired a firm called "CodeRed" to alert citizens in event of an emergency.
We have NOT been raised to a Red code alert.
Thankfully ..... |
trapper
Citizen
Username: Trapper
Post Number: 81
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 - 1:04 pm: | |
Justme,
The zip code for orange is 07050. |
Joan
Citizen
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 3425
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 - 4:27 pm: | |
The town is trying to plan for a contingency in the event of an emergency. This is a good thing. I would rather have my name, address and phone number made available to a vendor who will call me in the event of an emergency than plead privacy rights and lose out on a life saving notification.
My concern is whether speed dial telephone notification is sufficient. What about phone lines which are busy when the speed dial call comes through or people who miss the call for a variety of reasons?
Will there be any human check of the computer program to determine that everyone was actually reached or otherwise accounted for? Will the information also be made available at a website or dial in center?
If we are going to commit our dollars and peace of mind to this CodeRed program, we should have a clear understanding of what services it will actually deliver. |
wharfrat
Citizen
Username: Wharfrat
Post Number: 1222
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 - 5:02 pm: | |
In what scenarios would CodeRed call us, and what contingencies would be available?
Having grown-up when fall-out shelters, and duck and cover were the survival norm, I'm a little sceptical about the whole thing.
But, I do have an open mind. |
just me fromsouthorange
Citizen
Username: Jmfromsorange
Post Number: 735
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 - 7:18 pm: | |
bret- boy do i feel stoopid!!  i did reread it and see my mistake!!! glad i was wrong! <g>
trapper -thanks for the laugh!
joan- whatever happened to the reverse 9-11 system i though both maplewood and south orange have?
wharfrat-
i remember those days too! really, what was hiding under our desks or sitting in the hall outside our classrooms going to do to protect us? |
Soda
Citizen
Username: Soda
Post Number: 1661
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 - 8:22 pm: | |
Okay, Everybody! Assume the position! Get under your desks, put your head between your legs, and
kiss your ••• goodbye! Ahhh, memories...
--s.
BTW: Just for the record, if this idea really does make sense, don't you think there's probably Federal Homeland Security-type funding available to pay for it? You can bet that if there's money to be made and individual privacy rights to trample, this Administration's got the whole scene covered...
P.S.: Dave pre-emptively edits the word " ••• ". I din't know that! Hmmm. Let's see...
Yup. M-HMMM! TH ••• right! I'm bad. I'm a bad-•••!
Never ••• ume!
••• me again later.
Before you try to ••• uage my hurt feelings, Dave, I'd like to know whether you've canv ••• ed our community to ••• certain how interested we MOL'ers are in p ••• ing the mantle of language police along to you, rather than ••• uming responsibility for our own posts. If not, I'll simply quote Mr. Bob F aas , he of minor m ••• media outlet WBAI in the dusky distant p ••• t:
"Kiss My Rear!"
Love ya, Dave! |
Soda
Citizen
Username: Soda
Post Number: 1662
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 - 8:31 pm: | |
Oh, yeah! (drifting seriously now...) Did you know that:
Aussie heartthrob/actor/singer/dancer/Wolverine
HUGH JACKMAN changed his last name to get into showbiz?
It used to be "Jass"... |
sac
Citizen
Username: Sac
Post Number: 1415
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 - 9:57 pm: | |
My daughter's orthodontist uses a reminder call system the day before appointments where you have to press a number to indicate that you received the call. I'm not sure they do anything with that ... considering that our appointment reminders have gone to voicemail many times and we never got a followup, but it seems like their system has some sort of capability along those lines anyway. Perhaps the CodeRed system would do something like that? |
Bret N. Walda
Citizen
Username: Bret_n_walda
Post Number: 2
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 4, 2004 - 8:44 am: | |
I should add one clarification to my original posting: The Town newsletter states "In 2002 the Township submitted and received a Local Domestic Preparedness grant for the acquisition of an emergency notification system."
I still pose my second question about the use of Township funds and for what incremental benefit, though, on at least a couple of grounds: Will this grant cover 100% of the initial cost and cover all future years' fees? Was the grant restricted to paying for this sort of speed-dial service and only that service? Does adding this service crowd out spending on other town preparedness and just implicitly swell the rest of the overall budget even further? (Note I don't even dare to dream that the Township/Essex/MSO schools might consider pruning their combined budget.)
I simply pose the question, because once again I foresee needless duplication and mission creep on the part of a local government. With that comes the inevitable incremental cost in $ and citizen independence and I'd like to know what incremental benefit CodeRED really offers an individual or family over common sense personal responsibility and existing information sources. |
Brian O'Leary
Citizen
Username: Brianoleary
Post Number: 2264
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 4, 2004 - 1:32 pm: | |
YES! I ORDERED THE CODE RED!
Okay, that ends this brief Jack Nicholson moment for me. |
Reflective
Citizen
Username: Reflective
Post Number: 555
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, August 7, 2004 - 6:43 pm: | |
Full Disclosure is needed.
As I mentionned in a previous post, campaign contributors are rewarded, by the Township and incumbents. Even though it is against "policy", LOL!!!
So what is CodeRed? Try the five basic interrogatives: who, what, where, why and how.
Oops, that is a new notion to the national NEA lang arts people who, for thirty years, have been responsible for decreasing language skills leading to the current and failed crop of investigative reporters. And a woefully unimaginititive, sound bite led american electorate.
So, while communication initiatives are more important than ever, it's vital to know if vendors are merely fat cat insiders who can't produce, or the real thing.
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