Anderson businesses could help catch a thief

ANDERSON COUNTY, South Carolina

The electronic signs along Anderson County’s major highways could soon tell you more than the time, temperature and that day’s specials.
Anderson County Emergency Services is asking business owners to use the signs as an emergency alert system that would tell residents about Amber Alerts, evacuations or incoming weather threats, such as tornadoes.
The Billboard Emergency Alert System, or BEAS, actually came about as a suggestion from a resident, said Anita Donley, administrative office manager for the emergency services division.
Ms. Donley, who’s spearheading the project, knows how easy it is to miss an Amber Alert. When a 7-year-old boy was abducted at the Anderson K-Mart in 2004, she was heading out of town on Interstate 85 and didn’t know about the Amber Alert until she saw a sign at Exit 42 in Greenville County.
Anderson County roads are traveled 2 million times a day, Ms. Donley said. The county doesn’t have electronic signs on I-85, but it has at least 70 electronic business signs within a 10-mile radius of downtown Anderson. She counted 23 on Clemson Boulevard from the Spinx gas station on North Main Street to the Cracker Barrel on Interstate Boulevard.
The county would e-mail business owners the message they should post then call, using either an automated system or county staff, to alert them the notice was sent. The business owners would post the message until the emergency has passed.
Not only is the county hoping the signs will help them reach more people, but Ms. Donley said the best place to be looking for a car is driving around in a car.
The Spinx on North Main Street and Tony Long’s Allstate Insurance agency on North Boulevard near Ingles have already volunteered their signs, and other businessmen say they are interested as well.
“I definitely would do that,” said David Fant, owner of Lawrence and Brownlee Insurance on North Main Street. “If it was my kid that was kidnapped, I would want as much help as I could get.”
Businesses are trading advertising space to participate, but in addition to potentially saving a life, it’s good public relations, agreed Jeff Ranta, a partner in Mustard ‘N’ Relish, a public relations firm in Greenville and instructor at the University of South Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Mr. Ranta said it’s hard to see a downside for companies. They gain a reputation as a good corporate steward by participating. And as technology improves, public safety announcements could one day scroll at the bottom of the signs, similar to the way alerts are shown on television, Mr. Ranta said.
“I think it’s a win-win for everybody,” he said.
Anyone who wants to participate in the Billboard Emergency Alert System should call the emergency services public affairs office at (864) 260-4646.

Source: Independent Mail By Heidi Cenac