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That’s what most people in the county read when they went to use their Internet on Friday, December 30. The loss of connection was felt at local businesses who couldn’t accept credit cards, as well as those who were awaiting documents or wanting to send documents through their computer because their phone lines were down. Or mostly down. In some cases, calls could go out but not in, or vice versa.
The problem occurred when CenturyLink’s fiber lines froze near Tofte early Friday morning. The company sent specialized technicians to the North Shore to repair the damaged fiber. While work was under way to make the repairs to the phone lines, the Cook County Sheriff ’s Department had to come up with a quick plan to restore 911 service to the area.
“The safety of our residents in Cook County is paramount and our number one priority,” said Sheriff Pat Eliasen at the time. “We are working with CenturyLink to put plans in place while repairs are made in the area, and 911 service is fully restored. Sheriff ’s deputies will be stationed at strategic locations throughout the county to be a physical and technological link through our ARMER (Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response) radio system, to dispatch and emergency services.”
Sheriff Eliasen also asked any first responders or fire personnel with ARMER radios to advise their neighbors and to use the system in the event of an emergency only, and requested that “idle chatter on the radio system should be avoided at all costs.”
Technicians had the service up and working on Saturday.
“We are very pleased that the fiber was able to be repaired overnight and 911, and all phone service, is up and running across the county,” said Eliasen. “We had deputies stationed at six locations throughout the county as well as emergency personnel staffing all fire halls for citizens in the event of an emergency while 911 service was down.
“Fortunately, this ended up being a precautionary measure, and none of these dedicated professionals had to be used nor did any issues arise during the outage. I commend them and our dispatch team for their dedication to public safety and their community and extend my thanks to everyone involved throughout the night.
“I also commend the efforts of CenturyLink employees for their dedication of personnel and resources to address this serious situation. Their tireless efforts overnight are the reason that the people of Cook County can rest a little easier knowing communication has been restored.”
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