After spending 15 years at a cramped location across the street from the Oktibbeha County Sheriff's Department, county emergency management staff upgraded to a new building on Main Street last week.
The county emergency management team handles 911 dispatching in the area, while managing severe weather notifications for county residents. Moving into a new location was a major goal set by Emergency Management Director Shank Phelps—which he credited to the current board of county supervisors support.
"The board really helped us out," Phelps said. "They were very receptive of what we asked last year. I cannot thank them enough for their support. This is for the county. It's not about us, we want people to be as safe as they can be."
In the move, the county approved new dispatch equipment, servers and associated office supplies—moving away from dated 2001-era technology.
"We could do everything in our old space that we do now," Phelps said. "Just like any business, you have to upgrade systems. We were due for updated equipment."
For more, see the Oct. 8 edition.