(ERIN KILLINGER | The Miami Student)
Butler County residents now have a new way to get information about weather conditions and emergency situations.
The Emergency Management Agency (EMA) recently created a new emergency hotline for Butler County residents. They can now get emergency information from around the county by calling (513) 785-5800.
According to Sheriff Richard Jones, the hotline is a great resource because it allows people to get information about the county without tying up the 911 dispatch lines.
Jones worked with Jeff Galloway, director of EMA, in order to make the hotline happen.
"I contacted Galloway about eight months ago with the idea of the hotline and he had the resources we needed to implement it," Jones said.
The hotline is an automated system in which people can learn about weather emergencies or natural disasters within the county, Jones said. It can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
According to Jones, Galloway simply needs to call the machine in order to update the emergency level.
John Detherage, Oxford Fire Department chief, agrees the hotline is going to be a valuable asset to Butler County.
"In times of emergency, the dispatch gets extremely overloaded," Detherage said. "It leads to chaos and we get hundreds of calls that are not actual emergencies, which can be very dangerous."
Miami University junior Ashley Stottsberry believes the hotline will benefit residents at times when Oxford receives a lot of snow or when the tornado sirens are going off.
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"There have been several instances this school year where the hotline would have been helpful," Stottsberry said. "I think the hotline will work as long as people know about it."
She said it is important for the EMA to get the word out about the new resource.
Detherage said older Oxford residents will get more use out of the hotline because the phone number will be flashed on TV along with weather warnings.
"I think older residents are more likely to see the number because they are more likely to watch TV," Detherage said. "Students are more likely to be out doing other things."
Jones said the new hotline hasn't experienced any flaws yet.
"It hasn't really been active long enough to have any cons," Jones said. "I'm sure we will have to make some tweaks at some point, but it is already proven to be a great asset."
According to Jones, people should really know what the different snow emergency levels mean. He said having a hotline that residents can call to get this information without bogging down the dispatch could prove beneficial in the long run for the city.
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