A revived carrier alert system is back up and running for Elbert
County residents.
At the Dec. 23 Elbert Board of County Commissioners meeting, the
board signed a letter of approval for the new program.
The carrier alert program is a cooperative effort among postal
carries, the United State Postal Service, law enforcement and the
911 communications center. The voluntary program is free to the
public and designed to provide service to elderly, disabled and
other homebound citizens in the community.
Pamela Sturgon from Elbert County Sheriff Victim Advocate office
said the program has been dormant in the county for a while, and if
it were started up again would help many people in the county. She
said the program is easy for both participants and letter carriers
to use.
After a person signs up for the carrier alert program and
provides their address as well as the contact information who they
choose to, if needed, make a wellness check a their home, a red dot
is placed in their mail box. The dot signifies to the letter
carrier that he or she is a participant in the program.
Sturgon said at that point the letter carriers look for anything
out of the ordinary, such as a build up of mail or animals
signifying they have not been fed in a while. If the letter carrier
sees any of these signs he or she notifies the 911 communication
office. The office then notifies the chosen contact person to do a
wellness check at the home.
“If the contact person can not be reached, law enforcement will
do the wellness check,” she said. “Then law enforcement contacts
the appropriate emergency agency if needed.”
Chairmen of the board Hope Goetz was in support of the program
and said it should have been in affect a long time ago.
For more information on the carrier alert program contact the
office of emergency management at 303-805-6131.
