December 2007

No the Rooskies aren't invading. UNC is testing it's emergency something-or-other system. From here (over 1 mile away) it does have the sound of a major disaster - as if a variety of fire engines, ambulances, and an air raid alert all were triggered at once.

The University's Department of Public Safety will test a newly installed UNC Emergency Alert System Siren on Wednesday, December 19 between noon and 1 p.m.

The siren will be used to sound an alarm and broadcast instructions about what to do during a life-threatening situation such as an armed and dangerous person in the area, a major chemical spill or hazard, or a tornado.

During Wednesday's test, the siren will sound for a brief period. Siren locations are at the Hinton James Residence Hall off Manning Drive; the Gary R. Tomkins Chilled Water Operations Center behind the Dogwood Parking Deck; Winston Residence Hall at the corner of Raleigh Street and South Road; and at University buildings off Airport Drive across Martin Luther King Boulevard from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA.

It's that time of year when I go to the beach and many of you hang out with your families and decorate Hanukkah bushes or something. (Oh wait, Hanukkah is already over.) As has become our end-of-year custom, commenting and new posting will be disabled for a while so we can all unwind and spend time aways from our blasted keyboards. OP will be on vacation from about 9pm Dec. 23rd to about 9am January 3rd.

What you can do in your spare time? Play with the new beta version of our site! I will post the address here on this page before we go off the air on Sunday. If testing goes well, you could be coming back to a whole new OP in January! Wish us luck...

Update: Screenshot posted.