MAHONING COUNTY Amber Alert plan surprises some

Commissioners said they've been working on the Amber Alert system for months.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Amber Alert system has created confusion among some Mahoning County officials.
Sheriff Randall Wellington announced Tuesday that his department is initiating the program, which is aimed at locating missing children, beginning Jan. 1.
That came as a surprise to county commissioners and their staff, who said they have been working to establish the Amber Alert system through the 911 department.
"We were totally blindsided by this," said Maggi McGee, 911 director. "We've been working on this for months, and it certainly hasn't been a secret."
The Amber Alert system is named after Amber Hagerman, who was abducted and killed in Texas in 1996. When a child is abducted, police notify radio and television stations quickly with a description of the child and other information, such as a description of the abductor or the getaway car.
Since March 2000, Mahoning County has used a system called Child Alert, which is similar to Amber. McGee said her office has been working with commissioners to implement the Amber system into the current system, using the 911 database and equipment.
She was unaware that Wellington also was working on an Amber project.
"We don't need to duplicate services," she said. "This is a big project that has to be maintained. I can't imagine the sheriff's department being able to maintain it."
What county has done
County Administrator Gary Kubic said the county already has acquired computer software necessary to set up the Amber Alert system, has created a computer database and is building a system that will use all the county's 911 answering points.
But Wellington said a new law recently signed by Gov. Bob Taft places responsibility for the program in the hands of law enforcement, not commissioners or 911.
The sheriff said he was unaware of the efforts by McGee and commissioners, and chalked them up to being two separate projects.
"[McGee] can do her thing. We're doing our thing," Wellington said.
Commissioners Ed Reese and Vicki Allen Sherlock also said they didn't know Wellington was working on an Amber system.
They said Wellington never contacted them about his project.
And although commissioners said they wish the sheriff would have clued them in on his plans, they said it really doesn't matter who gets the program up and running.
"Amber is a good system, and we want it in place. We want the system to work," Kubic said.
"We just don't want to duplicate services or equipment."
bjackson@vindy.com