On July 8th, the Municipality of Callander launched VoyentAlert!, an application for your phone that allows the town to send out messages regarding emergencies. “It’s a great tool for us to help get messages out there,” explained Callander’s mayor, Robb Noon. The problem is few are answering the call to sign up for the app.
See: Callander, prepare to connect, prepare for VoyentAlert!
Callander’s senior municipal director, Ashley Bilodeau said the municipality sent out a test message on July 11th, “and it worked great,” but as of now, only 252 residents have subscribed for the free service. According to the last census, Callander’s population is 3,863.
“It will only be effective if we have more people registered,” Bilodeau said, noting that not everyone checks the municipality’s website, or follows Callander on social media. This service provides a means to get important message across, but only if people opt in.
“It’s difficult for a municipality to get the word out to people,” Mayor Noon said. “And I think this is a really good option for residents to know what’s going on in the town, especially from an emergency standpoint.”
There is also an option to sign up for non-emergency notices, such as an announcement for when FunFest will be, if the rink it closed for maintenance, or if there will be a planned flushing of the town’s water pipes. However, residents can subscribe solely to the emergency notifications.
For more information on VoyentAlert!, including how to download and use the app, Callander has provided some handy advice on its municipal website.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
