Thursday evening, the Tioga County Sheriff’s Department and Tioga County Bureau of Fire began a process intended to make residents in and around the hamlet of Richford aware of a potential water hazard involving the Valley View Pond dam, after careful planning with the NYS OEM Regional Director and Chair of the Tioga County Legislature. While beginning to implement the plan which included members of the Richford Fire Department distributing a flyer regarding the situation, an inadvertent message was sent to Richford area telephones through the Tioga County Dispatch Center’s reverse 911 systems telling people to evacuate. The message was being programmed into the system for possible future use when it was accidentally sent. Residents should be aware that there is no need to evacuate at this time. Members of the NYS OEM, NYS Police, Tioga County Sheriff’s Department, Tioga County Emergency Management Office, Tioga County Bureau of Fire and Tioga County Legislature were in Richford this evening to meet with community leaders and residents to explain the situation and address local concerns. The Richford Fire Department distributed the flyers and informed residents of the current situation. The Richford Fire Department in cooperation with several of their mutual aid fire departments including the Berkshire Fire Department and the Newark Valley Fire Department will began the process of siphoning water from the Valley View Pond early on Friday morning to further reduce the water hazard at the dam. For further information contact the Tioga County Sheriff’s Department at 607-687-1010.
