Published: July 08, 2009 09:20 am      

Oakboro Police introduces new program

Tuesday, July 7, 2009 — Oakboro Police Department has implemented a new program to assist them in alerting the public to crime occurrences in the area, according to an announcement Police Chief Joe Lowder made during the town council meeting Monday.

The new program, known as Nixle, is a free service that will provide real-time information to subscribers.

“We felt this was a way to enhance what we were already doing with the hot fax/e-mail crime alerts,” said Lowder.

Registration with the program is required in order to receive the alerts, but it does not cost the police department, the town or the consumers to register.

When a crime occurs and the department uploads a message through this program, it is sent immediately to subscribers through their choice in notification — be it e-mail, text or phone.

Lowder added that there is a possibility to connect the program to Twitter, as it is fast becoming the most popular social networking site.

“It is also important to note that this program is 100 percent secure. It uses a telecommunications center that can screen the messages,” Lowder added.

To register for the program, visit www.nixle.com.

Also during the meeting, Council Member Georgia Harvey announced that Stanly Community College will be holding a tournament in Oakboro District Park on Oct. 10-11 to help raise money for athletic scholarships.

Also, Oakboro Fire and Rescue sent a letter to the Council requesting the consideration to adopt a parking ordinance for the Fourth of July parade.

According to the letter, people have been parking vehicles to reserve a spot along the street for the parade as much as five to six days in advance. This is not only inconvenient to the department as they have to change their schedule for decorating the streets for the parade, but it also causes a safety concern in the event of an emergency.

Mayor Joyce Little requested Lowder look into the situation and present a possible solution.



Contact Tiffany Thompson at (704) 982-2121 ext. 24 or snaponline24@carolina.rr.com.