I received the same alert gawalkman. Actually I am glad that I did. I had forgotten about the debate and wanted to go to help me make my decision about the candidate that is the right choice for the job. Also, just for FYI, the Nixle alerts are a free service to all public safety agencies and citizens. The alerts may be used for an immediate emergency, the advisory of a potential problem/threat/or concern, and also as a community reminder. I had to ask for myself and upon further inquiry this is the information that I have found out about this service. Have a good day.

The Sherriff's debate a public service announcement, I guess I can see that?

walkie dont ya know massive amounts of hot air and bs are a public safety concern?

I received that same alert and was a little bothered as well. I didn't receive that alert last week when another debate took place. It just made me wonder if that alert was being used for one's personal gain. I really don't think that Nixie was meant to be used for such purposes. I feel many people will unsubscribe from Nixie if it is going to be used in the manner.

Nixle is a text messaging program run by the CITY OF STATESBORO - Public Safety Department. Not Bulloch County Public Safety or even the Sheriff's Office nor can they even use it. Nixle is used for the purpose of keeping citizens informed of important events ie: road closures, fire emergencies, police emergencies, look outs, and any other event of a Public Safety nature. I have no problem with reminding the citizens of Statesboro that they have an important debate coming up that will give them the opportunity to gather information on who they may want to elect as the HIGHEST Law Enforcement Officer in this County. I personally think this is a very important "Public Safety" event. As for the other debate, it obviously had no bearing on local Public Saftey and therefore was not and should not have been put out on Nixle.

So, you are saying a Congressman would have not impact on the Public safety sector of this county? Ummm....very interesting.

And, this Nixie alert did NOT come from te SPD it was from Bulloch SO.

Hello to all.I just read this blog and realized that I had created this controversy. I am an employee of the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office. The same employee that was tasked with setting up the Nixle account for the Sheriff’s Office. We had been informed of the value that it has in letting citizens know about certain things occurring in our community. At the time that I set the system up, I sent what was to be a “test” alert to verify that the system was up and running for our agency. The alert consisted of offering a reminder of the Sheriff’s debate last evening. The reason this particular content was used was because that no emergency was present and I wanted to verify that I had set the system up properly. It was not intended to endorse anyone or for anyone’s personal gain. The system appears to be a great way of informing our area of potential threats to safety. I ask that everyone consider continuing receiving the alerts and also please encourage others to do the same thing. We, as law enforcement officers, who also live in the community where we work, want to continue to protect our families, friends, and neighbors and we feel that this tool will assist in our efforts. Again, this was nothing more than an alert to ensure that I had set this program up properly and I apologize if anyone was offended. I certainly intended no harm. Have a pleasant day!

That is hilariously cute, boro25. Stuff like this is the reason I keep reading these blogs.

Ya think. I stalk the blogs and find them very interesting at times. I've never commented until now....when I saw the concerns that I had raised. I don't know what else I can say, but hopefully it will put it to rest. Thanks!

Hey boro25 I would like to recieve those alerts how do I sign up?

Tempest in a teapot, if you ask me (which you probably wouldn't). It's not like the message was, "Go hear Sheriff Anderson tonight!"

Boro25, I think you picked an excellent test message. And thanks for generating some interesting, if banal, comments.

wwwhunter, you can receive them via email by going to www.nixle.com and registering your email or, if you prefer, text your zip code (30458 I'm guessing) to 888777 and you will receive them via SMS messaging. SMS seems to be the preferred method. We are working in conjunction with the city to expand our group of receivers, so please spread the word. It truly appears that it will benefit us all.

Boro25,

I commend you for your honesty.

In hindsight, why not simply send a message as "TEST" or "Welcome to BCSO alert system"?

Thanks gawalkman. No reason to lie about it. It was my mistake and I own it.

In hindsight, I wish I had. However, being new to working with this system, I thought that the only persons that would receive the alert were the few people that had subscribed in our agency at that immediate moment. We originally thought that we would have a separate group from the Statesboro Police Department. Then after speaking with a representative from Nixle we realized that our group was the same group as the Police Department. Hence the message you received. It was a true learning experience to say the least.

boro25, don't believe it was a mistake. Others might, but no harm, no foul. Nice to hear from you on the blog

Thanks Bryant.

I will stop by from time to time.

Stay safe!

What is the big deal, y'all? It's free, and he didn't specify any certain candidate. Get lives!

I have now been "alerted" to this threat.
This "system" worked better than you think. Now a lot of people definitely know who to vote, or not, vote for.