Plugged-in Danville Has New Ways of Communicating

The Town of Danville has joined two new outreach programs to stay in touch with members of the community.

The first new communication channel is Nixle. Nixle is primarily used in law enforcement and education as an efficient means of outreach and communication. Danville Police Department is using Nixle for a variety of purposes, from road closures to emergency notifications. Nixle subscribers can receive messages either via text or e-mail. The Police Department can tailor the message to the severity level, with high priority messages going out throughout the region.

“Nixle is a convenient and quick way for residents and businesses to be informed about emergency situations in their community,” said Danville Police Lt. Allan Shields. “All residents have to do is download the app and select the type of messages they’d like to receive, from emergencies only to community alerts.”

The other new form of outreach comes in the smartphone-based app Periscope. Periscope is a Twitter-based app which allows the Town of Danville the ability to provide live video-streaming of events, programs and projects in Town. Residents can download Periscope from the Apple App Store or Google Play. When the Town begins a livestream, users who follow the Town (@DanvilleINFO) will receive a notification of the broadcast and can log-in and watch. If they can’t see it live, a replay function is available for 24 hours afterwards. Periscope broadcasts are later uploaded to the Town’s YouTube channel and shared on social media.

So far, the Town has livestreamed from the annual July 4th Parade, the Law Enforcement Torch Run, Youth Summer Camps, Railroad Avenue Improvements Project and North Hartz Avenue Beautification Project construction sites, and even a virtual tour of the Danville Hotel private redevelopment project.

“Periscope lets us show the community what’s happening in their Town,” said Public Information Coordinator Geoff Gillette. “The live video aspect is fun to watch and is intended to educate, inform, and also encourage residents to participate in the Town’s programs and activities.”

Nixle and Periscope are now parts of the Town of Danville’s adopted social media mix, which includes Facebook, Twitter andLinkedIn. These tools help connect the community with their town government.