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WEST PITTSTON — The Borough Council announced plans to inform residents of the CodeRED Notification System in during a regular meeting Tuesday evening at the municipal building.
The CodeRED system was adopted by the borough last month. It is an emergency notification service meant to enhance the communication of time-sensitive information. It can notify residents and businesses in the borough regarding any concerns that may affect the safety and welfare of the community. Messages, which are delivered via phone, text messaging, email and social media, can include AMBER alerts, evacuation notices and warnings about traffic hazards.
Councilman Brian Thornton said the service is widely used around the country by towns and universities as an effective way to provide urgent updates and information and that it takes only a few minutes to sign up.
Brochures providing information on CodeRED are available at the municipal building and will be distributed to businesses in the borough, the West Pittston Public Library, the recycling center and left on vehicle windshields in the coming days. Council will also continue to look into mass mailing brochures to residents.
“It’s important that everybody participate in order for CodeRED to be successful,” Borough Manager Savino Bonita said.
Residents will be able to choose a preferred method of notification once enrolled in the system, and can have a test notification sent to their phone or email address. A link to the CodeRED Community Notification Enrollment page can be found on the West Pittston Police Department Facebook page (www.facebook.com/westpittstonpd) and will soon be available on the West Pittston Tomorrow website (www.wptomorrow.com). Those who cannot register online can call 1-866-939-0911.
Ellen Quinn, president of West Pittston Tomorrow, praised the borough for its adoption of the system.
“This is going to be a great benefit to the community,” Quinn said.
In other news:
• On Saturday, a community clean-up will be held starting at 9 a.m. in Morris Park near the municipal building. Wyoming Area’s Kiwanis and Key clubs will participate in the event.
• Residents of Excelsior Street expressed concerns regarding the “unsafe and unacceptable” condition of the road.
Regina Gilligan, who had two alignments and a replaced tire on her vehicle since February, said delivery men will not go down the road, preferring to park on nearby Race Street.
“It’s basically a dirt road. It hasn’t been paved since 1978,” Gilligan said.
Borough Engineer Tom Reilly agreed to survey the street and provide recommendations to council for temporary repair work. Reilly is currently in the process of acquiring three separate contracts for extensive road work in the borough, which will include Excelsior Street, with plans for construction to begin in July and follow through until 2016.