Howard County residents will start the new year with a new mass notification system, according to County Judge Brent Pinkerton.
Pinkerton announced this week the county has partnered with Regroup to launch a new mass notification system “designed to keep the community informed and prepared during critical events.”
For the last 10 years, the county has used CodeRed as its alert system, but Pinkerton said that company was shut down due to a data breach on their end. As a result, the county’s data used by CodeRed was lost.
Pinkerton added that Regroup, which does not require an app just a regular cellphone or landline, is an advanced platform that will deliver “urgent updates through phone calls, text messages, emails and more—ensuring fast, reliable communication when it matters most.”
From severe weather and road closures to emergencies and community alerts such as trash route schedules, the system will provide real-time notifications.
“We’re committed to keeping our community safe and informed,” said Pinkerton. “This system gives us the tools to share critical information instantly, so everyone can take the right steps to protect themselves and their loved ones.”
Pinkerton encouraged everyone in the county to sign up for the service and said the process has been made simple with the use of QR code (found with this article) or by following this link: https://embeds.regroupcloud.com/orgs/howardcoem/channels/howard-county-residents/signup_embed
Pinkerton said it is important to note that when signing up that the last step will be a “municipality” box which lets users pick their location. Users can selected Nashville, Mineral Springs, Dierks or Tollette, but if you don’t live within one of the cities you should select “Howard County” as your location.
For those needing help signing up, Howard County Emergency Management Coordinator Roddy Smith will be at the following locations next week to offer assistance:
Jan. 21, Dierks City Hall, 8-10:30 a.m.
Jan. 21, Wildcat Den, Umpire, 11-1:30
Jan. 22, Mineral Springs Fire Station, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Jan. 22, Tollette City Hall, 1-3 p.m.
For more information, contact the county judge’s office or Smith at (870) 845-7524.
