WARREN Officials to decide use of systems

Amber Alert is named after a 9-year-old Texas girl who was abducted and killed.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Trumbull County commissioners are trying to determine if the county can use two emergency alert programs to help find abducted children.
Commissioner James G. Tsagaris said Wednesday that he and commissioners Michael J. O'Brien and Joseph J. Angelo Jr. want to know if the proposed use of Amber Alert can co-exist with the Child Alert Program used by the county's 911 system.
The use of Amber Alert is being proposed by Shirley Olson, records secretary at the Liberty Police Department, and supported by township officials.
Representatives of the Child Alert Foundation, which provides the county with the Child Alert Program, told commissioners that their program is based on Amber Alert and provides more services.
Amber Alert is named after Amber Hagerman, 9, who was abducted in 1996 in Arlington, Texas, and found dead four days later.
How it works: If a child is missing and is in danger of being harmed, police notify radio stations that broadcast information, such as descriptions and locations. Motorists can then notify police if they see anything that may be of help.
Olson said Amber Alert is not designed to replace any other child-alert plan, noting that it is free to law enforcement.
The other system: Vincent A. Albers III, Child Alert Foundation vice president and co-founder, said Child Alert Program is designed to notify not only radio stations, but television stations and law enforcement agencies within a 100-mile radius.
The alert is not only used to get information out about child abductions, but walk-aways who suffer from Alzheimer's disease.
The foundation provides the service free to the county because it is a charity, and receives money from private donations, Albers explained.
Darlene St. George, Liberty Township administrator, argued that Amber Alert is "another tool" for law enforcement when dealing with abducted children.
St. George said Amber Alert is not designed to compete with the Child Alert Foundation.
Tim Gladis, county 911 director, said after the meeting that the county has had the Child Alert Program for a year and is satisfied with it.