Man revamps website to assist federal emergency
Logo courtesy of Michael Thrasher ::
By Terri Rimmer
Updated: 09/03/05
[Full Story Below ↓]
This story was written by Citizen Journalist Terri Rimmer. We encourage you to click the Tip Jar to support this writer's work. By Terri Rimmer
911access.com is online and ready to assist FEMA and families who are victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Michael Thrasher, founder of Amber Alert International, reprogrammed his free site Sept. 2nd to allow both sides of Katrina's victims to reconnect - family members lost and found. Using your last known phone number as an account number and last name as password, each family member can leave messages for each other so they can be reunited.
"Our trademark states we provide access to FEMA," said Thrasher. "It's a hundred percent free and we have suspended all child i.d. card sales at this site until further notice."
911access.com is used as an Amber Alert records database. It is 180 times faster than anything else and always free, said Thrasher.
"I was thinking what is needed now is a database that would allow families to reconnect and allow them to post changes on the spot," said Thrasher. "No waiting, no blocks, fast and free information."
Thrasher said he bought 911Shelter.com and was ready to "build a big beast" but he thought 911access.com would do everything needed now and it's online. So he changed a few things and disabled all sales options.
"Nothing is for sale until further notice," said Thrasher. "It's free access to the masses. Only your friends will have your account information (phone number and last name) in 95 percent of all cases. It can be your old home number or cell phone. It doesn't matter."
Thrasher said family members can send and receive photos and messages online in a semi-private account. No searching online is required.
"Any person with wireless access who will sit down for four hours and let others contact their family will receive the Amber Alert i.d. card for the life of their child," he said. "I just want to make a difference somehow and I think this is the best thing out there. I posted two other companies that have child i.d. card services so family members can go there. I don't care anything about any of the sales at all. It's insignificant. This is more important than anything else right now. Honestly if half a million people had the system prior to the hurricane the question would just be 'Where's the terminal?' because you can travel and update 911access.com to a place where you're going to be such as a hotel."
Thrasher has also made one bedroom of his two-bedroom house open to a family left homeless for six months. He was awaiting the time and arrival date as of 8:35 p.m. Sept. 2nd.
"I think with the available information the government did the best they could but it's my belief that since there was such devastation there was insufficient information that was being brought to the table to give government information," said Thrasher. "I don't find it's anyone's fault. It caught everyone off guard. And since the information was brought to the table of those responsible they've taken the best action they can. I wish I had thought of 911access.com 25 years ago because then all the information that FEMA, the Red Cross, police, and government have is there. With my system you can find your neighbor, the people that matter to you most as soon as possible and you can leave a message. You can make plans to pick people up and take them home. Nothing will be edited or taken out. We'll not even look at it."
Thrasher said 911access.com can now handle 1,000 people online at one time.
"If they would put five computers in the Superdome with 911access.com on it people could get the word out and everyone else in the country would not have to go through the agencies to find family members. I am asking that they turn the ticket sales computers into data access terminals for 911access.com at the dome," he said. "I'm asking that mobile police units with 911access.com park and let people sit in their car and write a message to their loved one. Local PC geeks with wireless internet can come down and set their laptops on a table and help people write. It can be a handheld Palm Pilot, Blackberry, no restrictions."
Thrasher is asking every private citizen with a wireless laptop to take five minutes of their time, sit at one common corner of the Superdome, put their computer on 911access.com, and let people use it.
"If radio stations put that word out, any college student, off-duty retired person with wireless access - if everyone would do this - people could contact their family," he said.
For more information, email Thrasher at JMThrasher@msn.com.
------------------------------------------------------------
Retired Navy counselor invents child ID program
By Terri Rimmer
Happy News Citizen Journalist
To enable police to find missing children faster, J. Michael Thrasher of Durham, NC, founder of Amber Alert International, has developed a free system which gives authorities a 180 times quicker response time when locating missing children or adults with special needs.
With a new emergency data bank program called 911 Access (911access.com), the retired military man who has 20 years of Human Resources administration, computers, and electronics experience and served as a guidance and career counselor, has invented a way for Amber Alert, police, fire, and rescue personnel to get information quicker when trying to locate missing kids in any country.
Thrasher, a Master Mason and former naval recruiter who worked as a member of the MAA Police Force (Shipboard Naval Police) for seven years with a background in mass group advanced training as an instructor and programs advisor, is offering his program for free. None of the information each family member enters into the system is checked or edited to retain confidentiality and participants can write as much into their record as they want police to see to aid in the recovery of a lost or abducted child. Each account will hold ten photos and mass information to contact all other family members but will never list an address as an extra security measure. Thrasher said the control is in the person's hands that enters the information and that police can only access the information when the person has reported a missing person to 911 dispatches.
Thrasher is now seeking sponsors for the free program.
"You need not buy anything to have the full 24 hours a day, seven days per week protection on 911access.com. It's a system for every member in your family. We do make sure there's nothing vulgar written by accident or on purpose but do not edit," said Thrasher. "Each password-protected account is not searchable within itself but only by administrative action so people can't just log in to search randomly. Much like AOL or MSN it's only searchable by administrative access. Our goal is to make one standard red and white i.d. card that breaks the language barrier and empowers police worldwide on the spot."
Thrasher's trademark Amber Alert i.d. card, Amber Alert Kit, and Amber Alert International are now on file with the U.S. Patent Trademark Office.
911 Access, while free, does allow members to add the Amber Alert i.d. card (TM) for children or 911 Medcard ™ for adults, each at the cost of $12.95. Proceeds pay for costs and overhead and $1 from each kit goes to amberalertfund.com. The dollar is divided into .25 going to the Fraternal Order of Police Widow's Fund, .25 to the Firemen's Widow Fund, .25 to 911 Dispatch Widow's Fund, .5 for Poison Control, and .20 for Orphan Services. The system is now online with 20 different sites offering very cost effective i.d cards for kids and adults, said Thrasher. Thrasher said that he hopes to provide free i.d. cards for every orphan through Orphan Services.
"I have talked to many police officers and firemen and they are supportive of this idea," said Thrasher. "There is no other complete system like it. There are $49 per year systems out there that you can join to list your child online but supplies no i.d. card or DNA kit. With this system you get it all, even a key tag with your child's Amber Alert i.d. number written on the front. This full circle system empowers police in 60 seconds or less."
Thrasher said he did not know Amber Hagerman's mother but he would be honored if she would be Amber Alert International's spokesperson. He said he wants to prevent what happened to Amber Hagerman from happening to any other child again.
"When you can just call 911 and give them the i.d. number and the child's name, 911 dispatchers will then have all information in 60 seconds or less," said Thrasher. "You have now empowered your police before they can pull out of the parking lot with everything they need and a photo. It's 180 times faster than anything else out there and the best part is it's free."
Thrasher said he dropped the price of i.d. cards. Kits used to sell for $20 and now sell for $13.00. He wants to get the cost down to less than the price of a medium pizza. The Amber Alert i.d card also has a finger print kit and DNA card that can be filled out at home, said Thrasher. The kit comes with pre-addressed return envelope which can be mailed back with the information and in seven to ten days three i.d. cards are sent to the parent in the mail.
For more information, email Thrasher at Michael@Thrasher.biz or go to www.AmberAlertInternational.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This story was produced by a Happynews Citizen Journalist.
For more information on contributing to Happynews, click here.
This story was produced by Happynews Citizen Journalist Terri Rimmer. Terri Rimmer works from Fort Worth, TX.
For more information on contributing to Happynews, click here.
More National Stories
Homeland security reports gang arrests
'Small' schools aim to improve students
New Orleans neighborhood rebounds from Katrina
Glass museum puts new spin in Savannah
Laura Bush, Condoleezza Rice awarded
More Stories by Terri Rimmer
The “C” word
The know-it-alls of Halloween
Halloween costumes made easy
The art and economy of dumpster diving
Animal Magazine holding benefits for Katrina pets
Print This Article | E-Mail This Article Terms of Use & Disclaimer | Contact Us | © 2005 HappyNews.comLook for some happy news for a change » Updated: 3/11/2006 10:26:57 PM
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Logo courtesy of Michael Thrasher ::
By Terri Rimmer
Updated: 09/03/05
[Full Story Below ↓]
This story was written by Citizen Journalist Terri Rimmer. We encourage you to click the Tip Jar to support this writer's work. By Terri Rimmer
911access.com is online and ready to assist FEMA and families who are victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Michael Thrasher, founder of Amber Alert International, reprogrammed his free site Sept. 2nd to allow both sides of Katrina's victims to reconnect - family members lost and found. Using your last known phone number as an account number and last name as password, each family member can leave messages for each other so they can be reunited.
"Our trademark states we provide access to FEMA," said Thrasher. "It's a hundred percent free and we have suspended all child i.d. card sales at this site until further notice."
911access.com is used as an Amber Alert records database. It is 180 times faster than anything else and always free, said Thrasher.
"I was thinking what is needed now is a database that would allow families to reconnect and allow them to post changes on the spot," said Thrasher. "No waiting, no blocks, fast and free information."
Thrasher said he bought 911Shelter.com and was ready to "build a big beast" but he thought 911access.com would do everything needed now and it's online. So he changed a few things and disabled all sales options.
"Nothing is for sale until further notice," said Thrasher. "It's free access to the masses. Only your friends will have your account information (phone number and last name) in 95 percent of all cases. It can be your old home number or cell phone. It doesn't matter."
Thrasher said family members can send and receive photos and messages online in a semi-private account. No searching online is required.
"Any person with wireless access who will sit down for four hours and let others contact their family will receive the Amber Alert i.d. card for the life of their child," he said. "I just want to make a difference somehow and I think this is the best thing out there. I posted two other companies that have child i.d. card services so family members can go there. I don't care anything about any of the sales at all. It's insignificant. This is more important than anything else right now. Honestly if half a million people had the system prior to the hurricane the question would just be 'Where's the terminal?' because you can travel and update 911access.com to a place where you're going to be such as a hotel."
Thrasher has also made one bedroom of his two-bedroom house open to a family left homeless for six months. He was awaiting the time and arrival date as of 8:35 p.m. Sept. 2nd.
"I think with the available information the government did the best they could but it's my belief that since there was such devastation there was insufficient information that was being brought to the table to give government information," said Thrasher. "I don't find it's anyone's fault. It caught everyone off guard. And since the information was brought to the table of those responsible they've taken the best action they can. I wish I had thought of 911access.com 25 years ago because then all the information that FEMA, the Red Cross, police, and government have is there. With my system you can find your neighbor, the people that matter to you most as soon as possible and you can leave a message. You can make plans to pick people up and take them home. Nothing will be edited or taken out. We'll not even look at it."
Thrasher said 911access.com can now handle 1,000 people online at one time.
"If they would put five computers in the Superdome with 911access.com on it people could get the word out and everyone else in the country would not have to go through the agencies to find family members. I am asking that they turn the ticket sales computers into data access terminals for 911access.com at the dome," he said. "I'm asking that mobile police units with 911access.com park and let people sit in their car and write a message to their loved one. Local PC geeks with wireless internet can come down and set their laptops on a table and help people write. It can be a handheld Palm Pilot, Blackberry, no restrictions."
Thrasher is asking every private citizen with a wireless laptop to take five minutes of their time, sit at one common corner of the Superdome, put their computer on 911access.com, and let people use it.
"If radio stations put that word out, any college student, off-duty retired person with wireless access - if everyone would do this - people could contact their family," he said.
For more information, email Thrasher at JMThrasher@msn.com.
------------------------------------------------------------
Retired Navy counselor invents child ID program
By Terri Rimmer
Happy News Citizen Journalist
To enable police to find missing children faster, J. Michael Thrasher of Durham, NC, founder of Amber Alert International, has developed a free system which gives authorities a 180 times quicker response time when locating missing children or adults with special needs.
With a new emergency data bank program called 911 Access (911access.com), the retired military man who has 20 years of Human Resources administration, computers, and electronics experience and served as a guidance and career counselor, has invented a way for Amber Alert, police, fire, and rescue personnel to get information quicker when trying to locate missing kids in any country.
Thrasher, a Master Mason and former naval recruiter who worked as a member of the MAA Police Force (Shipboard Naval Police) for seven years with a background in mass group advanced training as an instructor and programs advisor, is offering his program for free. None of the information each family member enters into the system is checked or edited to retain confidentiality and participants can write as much into their record as they want police to see to aid in the recovery of a lost or abducted child. Each account will hold ten photos and mass information to contact all other family members but will never list an address as an extra security measure. Thrasher said the control is in the person's hands that enters the information and that police can only access the information when the person has reported a missing person to 911 dispatches.
Thrasher is now seeking sponsors for the free program.
"You need not buy anything to have the full 24 hours a day, seven days per week protection on 911access.com. It's a system for every member in your family. We do make sure there's nothing vulgar written by accident or on purpose but do not edit," said Thrasher. "Each password-protected account is not searchable within itself but only by administrative action so people can't just log in to search randomly. Much like AOL or MSN it's only searchable by administrative access. Our goal is to make one standard red and white i.d. card that breaks the language barrier and empowers police worldwide on the spot."
Thrasher's trademark Amber Alert i.d. card, Amber Alert Kit, and Amber Alert International are now on file with the U.S. Patent Trademark Office.
911 Access, while free, does allow members to add the Amber Alert i.d. card (TM) for children or 911 Medcard ™ for adults, each at the cost of $12.95. Proceeds pay for costs and overhead and $1 from each kit goes to amberalertfund.com. The dollar is divided into .25 going to the Fraternal Order of Police Widow's Fund, .25 to the Firemen's Widow Fund, .25 to 911 Dispatch Widow's Fund, .5 for Poison Control, and .20 for Orphan Services. The system is now online with 20 different sites offering very cost effective i.d cards for kids and adults, said Thrasher. Thrasher said that he hopes to provide free i.d. cards for every orphan through Orphan Services.
"I have talked to many police officers and firemen and they are supportive of this idea," said Thrasher. "There is no other complete system like it. There are $49 per year systems out there that you can join to list your child online but supplies no i.d. card or DNA kit. With this system you get it all, even a key tag with your child's Amber Alert i.d. number written on the front. This full circle system empowers police in 60 seconds or less."
Thrasher said he did not know Amber Hagerman's mother but he would be honored if she would be Amber Alert International's spokesperson. He said he wants to prevent what happened to Amber Hagerman from happening to any other child again.
"When you can just call 911 and give them the i.d. number and the child's name, 911 dispatchers will then have all information in 60 seconds or less," said Thrasher. "You have now empowered your police before they can pull out of the parking lot with everything they need and a photo. It's 180 times faster than anything else out there and the best part is it's free."
Thrasher said he dropped the price of i.d. cards. Kits used to sell for $20 and now sell for $13.00. He wants to get the cost down to less than the price of a medium pizza. The Amber Alert i.d card also has a finger print kit and DNA card that can be filled out at home, said Thrasher. The kit comes with pre-addressed return envelope which can be mailed back with the information and in seven to ten days three i.d. cards are sent to the parent in the mail.
For more information, email Thrasher at Michael@Thrasher.biz or go to www.AmberAlertInternational.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This story was produced by a Happynews Citizen Journalist.
For more information on contributing to Happynews, click here.
This story was produced by Happynews Citizen Journalist Terri Rimmer. Terri Rimmer works from Fort Worth, TX.
For more information on contributing to Happynews, click here.
More National Stories
Homeland security reports gang arrests
'Small' schools aim to improve students
New Orleans neighborhood rebounds from Katrina
Glass museum puts new spin in Savannah
Laura Bush, Condoleezza Rice awarded
More Stories by Terri Rimmer
The “C” word
The know-it-alls of Halloween
Halloween costumes made easy
The art and economy of dumpster diving
Animal Magazine holding benefits for Katrina pets
Print This Article | E-Mail This Article Terms of Use & Disclaimer | Contact Us | © 2005 HappyNews.comLook for some happy news for a change » Updated: 3/11/2006 10:26:57 PM
RSS Feed Bookmark This Page Tell a Friend Make HappyNews Your Homepage
Home
International
National
Heroes
Health
Opinion & Editorials
Science & Technology
Environment
Arts & Entertainment
Sports
Business/Money
$1000 Are You Optimistic About the Future Contest Essays
HappyLiving
Contact Us
About Us
Report Happy News
Happy Newsletter
Sign up to get our top happy headlines e-mailed to you daily by entering your e-mail address below:
"The Happynews glass is always at least half-full, and sometimes it bubbles right over."
"Happynews.com forsakes war and famine, terror and man's inhumanity to man 24/7."
"As far as anyone can tell, it's the first international and national daily news organization dedicated exclusively to upbeat stories."
Unhappy News
MSNBC
CNN
ABCNews
FOX News
BBC News