Emergency Management Agency

WILL COUNTY EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM

Will County Emergency Management Agency and Will County 9-1-1 recently implemented an improved notification system to provide emergency alerts to people living and working in Will County. This system allows police, fire, and other emergency officials to send messages for a variety of situations that may affect public safety. In addition to receiving text messages on your cell phone, the new system allows you to choose to receive voice messages delivered to your home or work phone, as well as messages sent to your email account.

There are many situations that may require sending emergency alerts, such as chemical accidents, crime alerts, missing persons, and nuclear power station accidents, to name a few. Every situation is unique, and so is the decision by local emergency officials to use this system. It supplements other systems such as outdoor warning sirens and emergency TV and radio messages.

The transition to the new system has occurred. Use of the existing system will ended on February 15, 2010. To make this transition, it will be necessary for you to take a few minutes to sign up on the new system. Please click on the ‘Will County Emergency Notification System’ button on your right. You will be prompted to create an account and enter the appropriate information for your cell phone and other notification methods.

A word about severe weather notifications: In the past, our existing system has been used to send general severe weather messages. In nearly all cases, these messages are issued by the National Weather Service and then re-transmitted by a local emergency dispatcher who needs to manually create and send the message. This causes significant delays in sending these messages to you. While our new system may still be used to send severe weather messages in certain situations, we discontinued sending general messages on February 15, 2010 in favor of other systems available at no cost that can send severe weather messages to you automatically. We believe this is ultimately more effective for you. While we cannot endorse any specific systems, you may wish to take advantage of severe weather alerts offered through the following services:

• The Weather Channel – www.weather.com Free weather alerts sent via text message and email for your city or ZIP Code.
• Email Network – www.emergencyemail.org Free alerts sent via text message and email for Will County.
• National Weather Service NOAA Weather Radio - http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lot/?n=nwr Whether or not you receive text alerts, everyone should consider having a NOAA Weather Radio in their home or business. These inexpensive radios receive weather alerts directly from the National Weather Service without relying on text, phone, or email services that may not work in some emergencies.
• There is enough descriptive information about the child, abductor, and/or suspect's vehicle to believe an immediate broadcast alert will help.

Our new notification system and the systems mentioned above are available to you at no cost. However, you may incur charges from your service provider in accordance with your service plan. We appreciate your interest in being informed when emergencies occur and hope you will take a few minutes to sign up on our new system.

Thank you,
Will County Emergency Management Agency
Will County 9-1-1

Will County Special Needs Registry

You've seen the logo, you've read the information, now learn more about Will County Special Needs Registry. Simply click here, and a new page describing the system will appear, scroll to the bottom to the final three bullet points, entitled 'Family Member/Independent Resident' – 'File of Life' – and – 'Seniors'. Simply click on the wording to find out even more information concerning those titles along with short videos. We hope by viewing the videos it will provide you with even more information to encourage our SPECIAL NEEDS POPULATION to register today!

SUNSHINE CALLS CRISIS LINE OF WILL COUNTY

Do you have a family member, friend, neighbor who needs to be checked on daily? Do they also need to be reminded to take their medication? Did you know that Crisis Line of Will County conducts free well-being check calls and reminders to take medication calls to Senior Citizens and Special Needs Population. All done with a live, friendly voice. Help keep our senior citizens and special needs population living independently longer. Call Crisis Line of Will County at 815-722-3344 or online at www.crisisline247.org.

ARE YOU READY for Summer Travel

Yes, spring has sprung and as many of us begin considering vacation plans it is important to remember planning for travel conditions is equally as important. Remember to check out:

• ROAD CONSTRUCTION…All states have a transportation department that can be easily search. In Illinois visit the Illinois Department of Transportation www.dot.state.il.us/tpublic.html;
• WEATHER CONDITIONS…visit the National Weather Service Website at www.weather.gov. Regardless of where you are you can get the area forecast by typing in the City and State.
• 72 HOUR PREPAREDNESS KIT FOR YOUR CAR…that includes water, non-perishable snacks, first aid kit, flashlight, battery powered radio, emergency vehicle repair supplies, as well as other supplies that maybe needed for infants, special need family members, and pets.
• SHARE YOUR PLANS WITH A FAMILY MEMBER/CLOSE FRIEND...remember to provide a copy of your itinerary with a family member or close friend that includes you destination, emergency contact numbers, when you anticipate returning.

By including these helpful tips in your planning, you are sure to enjoy a wonderful VACATION!

RECYCLE WILL COUNTY

Are you busy preparing for summer by cleaning out garage. Are you finding old paint, old electronic equipment, and other items that could be recycled. You are in luck. Will County Land Use Department, has a Waste Services Division that is committed to helping Will County residents and businesses reduce waste generation, recycle as much as possible, and assure proper disposal of the remaining waste.

Checkout the Will County Land Use Department website www.willcountylanduse.com (then click on Waste Services) for :

• Permanent Recycling Locations
• Recycling Guide
• Special Collection Events