New alert system helps Holmes Co. stay on top of risky events

Relaying critical weather and disaster details that may arise in Holmes County comes with one unique challenge for Holmes County emergency management agent Jason Troyer.

With a population that is comprised of a large percentage of Amish community members, finding a way to share details that impact the entire community is difficult.

Troyer has been in discussion with Inspiron Logistics Communication Management Platform to find a way to solve that problem. The current discussions center around two separate plans that would help disseminate critical information throughout the county.

The first is the WENS System Account in which anyone in the community could opt-in to get alerts. Troyer used the example of the recent fire in Millersburg, where traffic had to be rerouted as local fire departments worked on containing the fire that closed Washington Street.

The second, which Troyer said is a much more important part of the plan, is the IPAWS system. The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System is designed to act in the same manner as an Amber Alert.

“What it will allow me to do is to send out a message to anyone within a certain area,” Troyer said. “I could send a message out to all of Holmes County, or I could put a geofence around a specific area within Holmes County, and the alert would look a lot like if someone was receiving an Amber Alert.”

IPAWS would give Troyer the ability to reach specific communities in cases like accidents, storms, fires and hazardous material spills to present vital information people would need to either avoid the area, evacuate or seek shelter.

Troyer said the IPAWS is the best form of sharing crucial news because it will send an alert to anyone in the area who has a cellular device.

The programs will supply unlimited voice, texting, email, paging, Facebook, Twitter and desktop alert notifications and include plenty of bells and whistles. That will allow Troyer to create any number of specific contact areas and messages.

“It’s a really neat system that should be useful to our county,” said Troyer, who said challenges reaching people lie within both the Amish community and the tourist community.

While the Holmes County Sheriff’s app provides great service to those who sign on to receive it, not everyone has that app, so Troyer said the usefulness of the IPAWS mode is unique in that everyone with a cellular device would receive the instant message.

In order to be IPAWS certified, Troyer said he had to take classes, then send in an application for approval.

Troyer said he can send out alerts through his phone or connect with local dispatchers, who can also send out information through the system.

He said while national weather service information is dispersed automatically, among the IPAWS uses are that it could help locate a missing child, including attaching a photograph, or it could provide detour information around an accident or fire.

“Wayne County has it, and it has worked well for them,” Troyer said. “But with our higher population of Amish, this is something that could really be a valuable tool.”

As for signing up for the WENS program, Troyer said he will begin presenting opportunities to do so at the upcoming Amish Health & Safety Day Aug. 1 at the Holmes County Board of Developmental Disabilities, as well as other forms of advertising that will alert people as to where they can sign on board with the WENS.

On Monday, June 12, the Holmes County commissioners approved the purchase of both items, which will cost the county $6,825 each of the next three years.

Troyer said he is hoping to have the systems out and available later this month and by Aug. 1 at the latest.