PD phone flap fix final?

 

SUNNYSIDE (1-26-98)---So what happens when you want to call the Sunnyside Police Department?

 

"Nothing!" came a chorus of angry voices recently, complaining to the city council.

 

They claimed the new phone system has provided a buffer between the PD and those who have non-emergency business with police.

 

So councilmen called in a United Telephone representative to explain the problem.

 

The rep indicated the flap has presented a puzzle to phone company engineers.

 

He told the council a temporary fix had been made on the 35 lines that flow into the city's new Law and Justice Center.

 

He said technicians have rerouted after-hours calls around the voicemail software portion of the Centrex system.

 

That, he acknowledged, is a temporary fix that seemed to be working. He indicated the phone company was even prepared to reimburse the city if a satisfactory, permanent fix isn't made. Police Chief Wallace Anderson lauded phone folks for their efforts.

 

So YVN reporters tried the system at 837-2120 after the council meeting at 11:40 p.m. Monday.

 

The lady computer voice asked the caller to "Press 1" if he wanted to speak to the on-duty dispatcher.YVN did, and police staffers answered immediately. But the business phone can't always be answered that quickly by night staff, they say.

 

Dispatcher Melissa Rodriguez said there's "never been a problem with the phones, to my knowledge. But sometimes we have to let it ring and ring."

 

"Some people hang up when there's no answer," Rodriguez said. "But we can't help that if we're busy with an emergency."