By ROBERT S. MERRILL
Assistant editor
Deactivated cell phones are causing some problems for the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department and Preston City Police.
Our dispatchers have noticed a number of 911 emergency calls coming in to the office when an emergency does not exist, said Chief Deputy Dave Fryer.
“It certainly isn’t an epidemic, by any means,” said Dave Fryar. “But it takes a lot of time and extended effort by officers to track down these calls. And it does tie up our resources needlessly. We’re actually happy when we respond and find the person calling doesn’t need emergency care.”
Preston Police chief Val Sparrow said his officers have responded to several bogus calls coming from Preston Junior High School this fall.
“The county’s 911 system can pinpoint the location where the calls originate from. We’ve had several coming from the junior high school area. I would suspect we’ve either got students with old, deactivated cell phones or their own that are playing around.
This story is sponsored by Preston Drug and LaMont Automotive.
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