Thursday's Internet Edition, July 24, 2008.
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Editor - A state grant will provide emergency security buttons for judicial personnel in two courthouse offices.
Roane County Commissioners signed a contract during their Tuesday meeting to receive a $7,740 grant from the Division of Criminal Justice Services.
Commission administrative assistant Sue Hamric said the hidden “panic” buttons would be installed in both the adult and juvenile probation offices.
The grant will also provide upgrades to the current system in which the buttons in other judicial offices cause alarms to sound in the courthouse lobby and the sheriff’s department.
According to Hamric, the upgrade will allow the buttons to automatically call the county 911 center, which will receive a printout identifying the office. The dispatcher will then call for law enforcement. Hamric said the new system would be more effective because deputies are often away from their courthouse office.
Also Tuesday, commissioners David Boothe, Rodney Cox and John Greathouse discussed a the addition of a new storage closet in the courthouse lobby. They had been unsuccessful previously in securing bids from contractors and decided to eliminate a specification that called for a ventilation system in the closet.
They received one bid by phone prior to the meeting that did not include the ventilation, but decided to delay action because Cox had learned from an architect that the ventilation system was a requirement.
Before adjourning the 35-minute-long session until their next meeting Tuesday, June 24 at 6 p.m., commissioners also:
• Approved hiring Jacob McCumbers as a dispatcher in the 911 center. He will work four days a week at a pay rate of $7.25 an hour. Melissa Gilbert, the county 911 director, said McCumbers would help fill a vacancy created by another dispatcher’s medical leave.
• Approved hiring Megan Harper as part-time summer help in the sheriff’s tax office beginning June 16. Harper also worked in the office last summer.
• Learned from Cox that Dr. Michael Sitler was leaving the area and that the Roane Emergency Squad was looking to replace him as the squad’s medical director.
