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Campus Alert System "Contact Now" Used for First Time Last Month
By Karmeece Watson
It was no test. Mars Hill College officially used the new, campus-wide, phone alert system, Contact Now, at 5:30 p.m., Monday, November 10.
Craig Goforth, dean of student affairs, received a call from local law enforcement about a black Ford Mustang whose driver was armed and driving around campus. Goforth called Mike Thornhill, MHC director of communications, and asked him to activate the Contact Now alert system.
Thornhill was off campus when he got the call to send out the alert. He dialed into the system by telephone to activate it. Mars Hill Campus was never officially on lockdown, as email indicated. Thornhill said he was able to change the voice message that went out to reflect the alert level but not the e-mail message that was automatically sent with it.
“Even though we never were actually in a lockdown situation, the system still delivered e-mail messages saying that we were,” Thornhill said.
“The message was unclear, and I couldn’t understand what the message was,” said Tammy Olerud, a freshman.
Some students were held in the cafeteria, and some athletics were let go from practice early. Some students who received the message still went out on campus. Some people received calls while others who were signed up didn’t.
According to Thornhill, the system database was being updated with the latest information from students who recently signed up.
The 2004 black Mustang with Tennessee plates was stolen from a student at East Tennessee State University by David Lee Forney ll, according to police. A student was forced to exit the car, and after a struggle, she did. She suffered no injuries.
The perpetrator was then chased by Carter County, Tennessee, law enforcement personnel until they lost him in North Carolina. He was then spotted on N.C. 213 in Mars Hill. Local law enforcement patrolled Mars Hill College looking for the car.
The driver was found in Oakland, Calif., four days after he hijacked the car and pulled over for having his music too loud. He was arrested then for the carjacking.
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