Published: December 02, 2008 09:28 am      

JCSO phone system to go down for repair

By KANDACE MCCOY

kandace.mccoy@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — In order to repair a problem in the energy storage unit for the phone system at the Jefferson County Justice Center, Jefferson County Sheriff Roger Mulch has announced that the phone system at the center will be down from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

A new battery backup system will be installed during that time period, Mulch explained, and advises those who need to make business calls to the justice center to make them today or after Wednesday. He added that also during the time phones are down, all emergency calls will be routed through the Mt. Vernon Police Department and taken care of appropriately.

“We apologize for the inconvenience, but it’s something we have to do,” Mulch said. “We’ve got to maintain the system.”

Phones were down at the justice center on Oct. 21 as a result of a failure in the energy storage unit. Mulch reported then that one or two batteries in the storage unit exploded, which took the system down. Through enhanced 911, all calls were switched over to the MVPD so no emergency calls were missed — a protocol which would follow if there were to be a problem at the city — call volume would be transferred to the county.

And since the phones will be down tomorrow, Mulch reminds the public that employees cannot access messages either.