Tuesday, December 28, 1999
Ohio: We're Y2K ready
Cincinnatians also reassured
BY PERRY BROTHERS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
and The Associated Press
Ohioans should prepare for Y2K as they would for a winter storm, state and local officials said Monday.
Gov. Bob Taft has prepared a Y2K public service announcement that the state is prepared for any possible disruptions. But he urges listeners to stock enough batteries, food, water and prescriptions to last “a few days.”
Officials in Columbus, Cincinnati and elsewhere reiterated that they don't expect problems as the calendar moves to 2000.
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Y2K HELP
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For Y2K problems or questions, call these hot lines, which will be staffed 24 hours a day:
• City of Cincinnati Customer Service, through Jan. 5: (513) 591-6000.
• Cincinnati Water Works: (513) 591-7900.
Or, visit the city's Y2K site, www.ci.cincinnati.oh.us/y2k.
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“We think the city is 99.9 percent Y2K ready,” Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken said, during a news conference with police and council members.
The city's services and utilities are prepared for the anxiety-ridden new year, the mayor said. He and police officials urged residents not to panic if there are unanticipated problems.
Officials urged the public to do its part to avoid trouble.
That includes resisting any urge to test telephones or other equipment shortly after midnight just to see whether they're working, said Orest Holubec, a spokesman for Mr. Taft. “He's encouraging Ohioans not to test the 911 system and also to keep their money in banks and to just use common sense in planning,” Mr. Holubec said.
Mr. Tafty planned today to tour the state's Y2K command center in northwest Columbus, a large concrete-reinforced room at the Ohio Emergency Management Agency. The center will be staffed by employees from 13 state agencies to ensure a prompt response to any problems that might develop, said Dick Kimmins, OEMA spokesman. The state has committed $130 million to Y2K-related preparations.
“We're ready,” Mr. Kim mins said.
Concerns involve software that uses only the last two digits of the year and could take '00 to be 1900 instead of 2000. Having dealt with every such system they can think of, officials now have to wait to find out what they might have failed to recognize or predict.
The OEMA today begins reporting twice daily to its federal counterpart, monitoring state operations and assisting others preparing for Friday, Mr. Kimmins said.
“Friday is the day the waiting and watching will peak, certainly from a state perspective. We will maintain a 24-hour presence,” he said.
Auditor Jim Petro, whose office has worked with county and local governments on possible Y2K problems for five years, said he expects minor problems here and there, but nothing “hugely widespread.”
“As we look at next weekend, I don't think we're going to have a lot to worry about,” Mr. Petro said.
Mr. Taft plans to visit the emergency center on Friday night but has other activities scheduled as well, Mr. Holubec said.
Despite terrorism scares in some parts of the country, Cincinnati police said they have no reason to think terrorists have targeted the city or the region, Lt. Col. James Smith said.
But the police force is prepared for the unexpected, he said, including unruly revelers. Police training for potential Y2K problems began nearly two years ago.
Cincinnati's major utility providers are assuring customers they have prepared for Y2K. In fact, Cinergy's power plants already think New Year's has come and gone. Their internal clocks have been reset past the year 2000. Cincinnati Bell has been working to resolve its Y2K issues since 1996 and in September said its systems had passed critical date testing.
Council members and the mayor will be monitoring city services throughout New Year's Eve and Day, Mr. Luken said.
The city also urged businesses to complete a Y2K self-assessment to avoid potential problems. Business owners also should make hard copies of vendor phone numbers and verify that their vendors, banks, building managers and suppliers are Y2K-compliant.
Phillip Pina contributed to this report.
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