The Village News
A Waxhaw Community Publication
August 2015
Volume 20 ● Number 7
Featured Stories
Code Red
Renaming of the
Newsletter Contest
Museum of the Waxhaw holds
EC Camp
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Town of Waxhaw NC
Town of Waxhaw NC
Since 1889
T
he Town of Waxhaw has
contracted with Emergency
Communications Network to
provide Waxhaw residents with
the CodeRED system, a highspeed emergency notification
service. The CodeRED system
provides town officials the
ability to quickly communicate
time-sensitive messages to targeted areas or to all residents
within the Town limits via voice,
email and text messaging.
“CodeRED’s robust system will
provide Town officials with a
reliable, easy-to-use interface
to quickly disseminate critical information to our citizens.
We are very eager to use this
technology to enhance our
emergency preparedness
plans,” said Town Manager
Warren Wood. The Town anticipates using the system to notify
residents of emergency situations such as natural disasters,
hazardous material incidents,
emergency shelter set-up,
missing persons, search and
rescue efforts, lockdowns, and
other time critical information
such as crime prevention and
solving, street closures, parade
route notifications, utility work
and trash pickup disruptions,
spring and fall community
clean-up days, voting reminders and precinct locations, trick
or treat hours, and more.
The Town has been provided
an initial database of residential and business telephone
numbers, however, all residents
living within Waxhaw’s town
limits are encouraged to visit
www.waxhaw.com and click
on the CodeRED logo to enroll
additional contact information
including cell phone numbers,
text and email addresses.
Wood cautioned that such
systems are only as good as
the telephone number database supporting them. “If
your phone number is not in
the database, you will not be
called.” One of the reasons the
CodeRED system was selected
is it gives individuals and businesses the ability to add their
own phone numbers directly
into the system’s database.
This is an extremely important
feature.
information includes first and
last name, street address (physical address, no P.O. boxes),
city, state, zip code, and primary phone number, additional
phone numbers can be entered
as well.
All businesses should register,
as well as all individuals who
have unlisted phone numbers,
who have changed their phone
number or address within the
past year, and those who use a
cellular phone or VoIP phone as
their primary number.
Wood explained, “CodeRED
allows geographically based
delivery, which means street
addresses are required to
ensure emergency notification calls are received by the
proper individuals in a given
situation. The system works for
cell phones too, but we need to
have an associated street address to provide relevant messages.”
“No one should automatically
assume his or her phone number is included,” Wood said
urging all individuals and busi- Public safety officials across the
nesses to log onto the Town’s
United States have credited Cowebsite, www.waxhaw.com and deRED notifications for many
follow the link to the “CodeRED successful events including loCommunity Notification Encating missing children, apprerollment” page. Those without
hending wanted criminals and
Internet access may call Waxissuing timely evacuations.
haw Town Hall (704-843-2195),
Monday through Friday, (8AM5PM) to supply their information over the phone. Required
The Village News ● August 2015 ● 1