Various

law enforcement and emergency services

departments in Fayette County are preparing for

possible Y2K-related situations over the final

days of 1999, but normal activities on New Year's

Eve and New Year's Day make it a

busier-than-usual time for those departments no

matter what the year.

City

police and fire departments, the Fayette County

Sheriff's Department, and the Fayette County

Department of Fire and Emergency Services will

all have extra staffing for the critical hours

around the dawning of the new year in case of an

unusual problem.

All

leave for FCDFES personnel is cancelled for the

week surrounding New Year's Day, beginning Dec.

28 or 29, according to spokesman Capt. Pete

Nelms. "All stations and all apparatus will

be at full staffing," he said.

The

department has also enlisted the help of several

members of its reserve unit, who will be on call

in case they are needed. Key staff members also

will be on call in case disruptions occur.

"We're

beefing up certain areas, but we're not expecting

any major disruptions in any type of

service," said Nelms, who also pointed out

that the New Year's holiday is typically a busy

time for emergency services, no matter what the

year.

Of

course, the courts will not be operating during

the holiday weekend. But Superior Court Clerk Bud

Ballard said that his department's systems should

be unaffected by the coming of the year 2000.

According

to Fayetteville Fire Chief Alan Jones, his

department is prepared for some disruptions

should they occur, but it is unlikely that a

bunch of problems will surface at once. Many

Y2K-related failures, if they happen, are

expected to unfold over several days, he said, so

handling them should be easier than tending to

several major events at the same time.

Perhaps

the office most obviously dependent upon

telephone service and electrical power is the 911

center. They're ready also.

"For

the simple reason that it's New Year's Eve, we

would have full staffing at the center,"

said Fayette County 911 director Cheryl Rogers.

"We will have some extra people on hand as

well."

The

911 department has prepared a contingency plan

and put it in place to handle any utility-related

issues that could arise, Rogers said.

general tip about using 911 service has surfaced

from several of these departments. Many people

will be tempted to pick up the phone New Year's

Day and dial it just to see if it's working.

This

would unnecessarily tie up phone service,

authorities say, so it is recommended that

residents not use the phones unless there is an

actual emergency.

Of

course, if a resident dials 911 and simply hangs

up, the 911 center immediately knows where the

call came from and can take action. So don't make

a crank call to 911.

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