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Northeast Installs Warning/Message
System
Personnel at Northeast Alabama Community College have worked
with Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative to install a
state-of-the-art warning/message system for the campus. The
system conveys messages through 42 speakers placed throughout
campus and also converts the college’s 140 telephones into
speakers. Messages can be delivered instantly to buildings
throughout the 115-acre campus.
“We are very pleased with this system,”
stated Dr. David Campbell, President of NACC. “The safety and
security of our students and personnel is our number one
priority in the process of providing educational services. This
system helps us further achieve that security.”
The system can be utilized to convey
standard announcements, or to provide guidance and direction
during any potential campus emergency, such as tornado threats,
ice or snow storms, or building evacuations or lockdowns.
Although the President’s Office serves as the emergency command
post, messages can be transmitted from any of twelve
telephone/speaker systems located strategically in offices
throughout the campus.
“I had the opportunity to hear General
Russel Honore speak at the Commission on Colleges conference in
New Orleans recently,” Campbell stated. “General Honore was the
person who went in and restored order to the city after
Hurricane Katrina. In his speech he stressed the importance of
being prepared – that in this day and age anything can happen.
We want to be prepared at Northeast in case there is an
emergency situation.” Honore, Campbell said, stressed the
importance of practicing and testing procedures. “He made the
statement that you learn more from your mistakes and failures
than you do from your successes and I thought that was good
advice,” Campbell added. “We’ve already tested our system and
found that it works well, but made some adjustments and
improvements from our mistakes.”
Northeast personnel have developed a
Crisis Management Plan that provides guidelines for dealing with
emergency situations and various staff and faculty members serve
as building coordinators to make certain that guidelines are
followed. Northeast police officers also supervise the
implementation of the system and have support links to area law
enforcement and emergency agencies should a crisis occur.
“We have fifteen actively used buildings
on campus and this fall had an enrollment of more than 2,500
students,” stated Dr. Joe Burke, NACC Vice-President/Dean of
Instruction. “Of course, all our students are not on campus at
the same time, but even so, our enrollment makes us one of the
largest population areas in DeKalb or Jackson counties and we
want to make certain that safety is assured.”
Northeast maintenance personnel assisted
Farmers Telecommunications in installing the interconnectivity
wire for the message/speaker system. Rodger Lingerfelt,
Supervisor for Special Projects with Farmers Telecommunication,
oversaw the installation of the system. Farmers
Telecommunications, located in Rainsville, is the
telephone/fiber optic cable provider for Northeast. Mike
Kennamer, Director of Workforce Development; Larry Guffey, Dean
of Administrative Services; and Kent Jones, Director of
Maintenance, Building and Grounds; served as coordinators for
the project at the college.
As part of the Alabama Community College System,
Northeast also serves as a hurricane evacuation center.
Extensive plans have been developed through the Alabama
Department of Postsecondary Education and the American Red Cross
for the college to serve in this capacity. For more information
about Northeast, visit the college’s web page at
www.nacc.edu.
Northeast personnel review procedures for
message/warning system with Farmers Telecommunications
Cooperative representative. Pictured (L-R, seated) Rodger
Lingerfelt, Supervisor, Special Projects, Farmers
Telecommunications Cooperative; and David Campbell, NACC
President; (standing) Marilyn Reece, Dean, Extended Day; Mike
Kennamer, Director, Workforce Development and Job Skills
Training; Larry Guffey, Dean, Administrative Services; Beth
Baker, Administrative Assistant, Extended Day; Kent Jones,
Director, Maintenance, Buildings, and Grounds; and Norman Smith,
Security Chief.
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