Welcome to Town Of Elon
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FAQs

FAQs

The Blackboard Connect™ service allows authorized civic leaders to create and rapidly disseminate time-sensitive messages to every telephone number stored in the notification database. With the Blackboard Connect™ service, authorized users can send thousands of messages in minutes. Only authorized officials are allowed access to the system.

Authorized officials record a voice message that is then delivered quickly to individual phones in the notification database.

Any message regarding the safety or welfare of our community would be disseminated using the Blackboard Connect™ service..

Examples would include severe weather warnings and updates, hazardous traffic or road conditions inside the town or affecting local routes, and any other situation that could impact the safety, property, or welfare of our citizens.

This system is a significant enhancement to existing means of communication and is supplemental to, not a replacement for, the systems we have used in the past.

TV, radio and our town web site will continue to broadcast important announcements.

It is our intention and hope that every residence and commercial facility in our community be included in the notification database. For businesses, we only store one main phone number. For residents, we may have more than one number that belongs to you in the database. Additionally, you may request to have a secondary number be entered into our database for priority calling.

Yes, we can accept cell phones as secondary phone numbers in the database and encourage you to request that your number be included.

Blackboard Connect™™ is a service of The NTI Group, Inc. (NTI). NTI takes security and privacy concerns very seriously and does not sell, trade, lease or loan any data about our clients to any third party. From a technical perspective, we utilize multiple physical and virtual layers of firewalls to maintain data security. NTI only utilizes secure transmissions with its customers. No confidential information is ever transmitted between NTI and its customers using e- mail or FTP, but rather always utilizes either a VPN tunnel or SSL. Data is hosted in state-of-the-art facilities which require photo identification, thumb-print recognition, keyed access, and are manned 24/7 with full-security personnel. All data is encrypted prior to being placed on tape for offsite storage. NTI also retains an external, independent security firm to perform annual security audits.

The caller-ID number for calls generated by the Blackboard Connect™ service will be the same as the town’s main number: (336)-584-3601. In addition, every message will begin with the same standard announcement: “Hello, this is Kathleen Patterson with the Town of Elon”. The message content will follow this standard introduction.

There are several varieties of call screening devices that use differing protocols for screening. In general, the system has been found to work with these devices. However, some may require some type of pre-programming to allow our town’s telephone number to pass through. We may conduct periodic test to assure that messages are being delivered to numbers in the notification database.

For non-residents or owners who reside out of our town/city, you may provide an additional phone number to be included in our database to contact during certain situations. In general, calls are sent to the primary number only, but we also have the ability to call multiple numbers for each resident or business when requested by the resident or business. Please click on the Community Registration portal on the town’s website or download the MyConnect smartphone app from the Apple

App Store and the Google Play Store at no charge. Those without Internet access or needing assistance can call (336) 584-3601. to provide us with that information.

Should a situation arise that requires us to contact you at multiple phone numbers, we can activate the system to place a simultaneous call to all of your numbers. In most cases, we will be sending calls only to one phone number.

For busy signals, the call will be repeated several times in an attempt to reach you. The same is true for No-answer and Call-waiting. If a message recorder answers the call, the message will be left on the answering device. If, after several attempts the call does not successfully go through, the system will stop attempting to call.

Yes. Please click on the Community Registration portal on the town’s website or download the MyConnect smartphone app from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store at no charge. Those without Internet access or needing assistance can call (336) 584-3601. to provide us with that information.

Yes, at the end of the message playback, simply press the star (*) key on your telephone to have it repeated in its entirety.

Repeating or looping of messages happens when the system detects excessive noise in the background, which is caused by loud radio and television volumes, people talking near by, or busy traffic noise. When you receive the next call, say “hello” once and turn down the volume of your radio/television or press the mute button on your telephone to allow full message delivery.