The safety of our community’s citizens is a top priority for the El Dorado Police Department. One of the ways in which the Department strives to achieve this is through Project Good Morning.
Project Good Morning is a service provided by the Department to check on those who need extra assistance in assuring their security and independence. Through the program, residents who sign up for the service are offered daily check-ins to be sure they are safe.
“If they do not call in by the given time, we try calling them,” explained Police Chief Curt Zieman. “If contact is not made, a police officer will go to their address and check on them.”
To sign up for the program, a person must reside within the city limits of El Dorado and live alone or with another person who is unable to render assistance in an emergency. All a participant has to do is be able to call the Police Department every day between 8 and 10 a.m. If the participant will be out of town or unable to call in, such as due to an appointment or day trip, they must notify the department.
“One of the requirements of the program is that we have a key to their house in case we have to make entry in an emergency,” Chief Zieman said. This key will be kept at the Department in a lockbox and will only be used in apparent emergency situations.
Chief Zieman said since participants in the program often live alone and don’t have any family around, they often enjoy the daily contact with someone. “I know some of them have had some pretty good conversations when they called in,” he said.
The Police Department is currently accepting new participants in the program. Anyone who is interested or wants to sign up a family member can call 321-9120 or visit http://eldoks.com/385/Project-Good-Morning and fill out the online registration form.