By phone, text or email, McHenry County’s emergency response people are seeking contact information.  A press release about it appears below:

McHenry County ETSB adds Self Registration Portal to GeoCast Web Emergency Notification System

WOODSTOCK, IL – With the increased use of cell phones, Voice over IP communication, and other alternatives to traditional land lines, public safety agencies are looking for new ways to advise residents of emergency situations.

The addition of the Self Registration Portal (SRP) to the GeoCast Web Emergency Notification System, already in use, provides emergency services with a way to gather contact information from the community at-large.

Through this free online service, McHenry County residents can now sign up to receive emergency alerts, issued by local public safety agencies, via landline or cellular telephone, text message, or email.

The web link: https://mchenryco.onthealert.com will connect users to the portal. After accepting the terms and conditions, follow the instructions for emergency notification registration.

Using Bing maps, the latitude and longitude of the resident’s address are calculated, with the location appearing on a digital street level display. If the position is incorrect, the person can easily reposition the pin to the exact location of the address.

There is a disclaimer that one must agree with to get in the notification system.

Participants may return to the SRP using a secure login to update their personal contact information as often as needed, to ensure data accuracy.

For more information, please contact the 9-1-1 Coordinator Theresa K. Carlson, at 815-337-7911.

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I had problems registering and had to call the number above.  Maybe the system couldn’t cope with my typing in “Crystal Lake” for my town, which I have been doing for 50 years.  Maybe it wanted “Lakewood.”