County corrects bugs in telephone system

Published 5:00 pm Saturday, February 19, 2011

If you had trouble contacting county employees this week, you’re probably not the only one.

The county’s phone services have been restored after its system fell into disarray Thursday night after a snafu at the state, according to County Coordinator Craig Oscarson.

The county’s phone system operates through a state system. Oscarson said the issue originated with the state, but local IT workers scrambled Thursday night into Friday to get the system back online.

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It was a bit of a perfect storm for the county. Earlier in the week, the county’s long distance provider went out of business, causing quite a few headaches during the changeover.

Court Operations Supervisor Krissy Bartness said she and other court staff had to scramble to ensure they could make contact with people for urgent court business, and even used personal cell phones in some cases.

The phone issues led to a abnormally quiet few days for county staff.

“It definitely cuts back on the amount of calls coming in,” Bartness said.

Despite the issues, county staff has been able to get their work done.

“We work through it,” Bartness said.

Oscarson said the move didn’t significantly affect dispatch or law enforcement.