I conceived, edited and partly rewrote this two-part series on the local effects of the Year 2000 computer problem. This is Part 1.
Will Year 2000 bug bite Sussex?
Towns and public service companies prepare for predicted computer glitchBy Margot Mohsberg and Sylvia Shomshor
Coast Press ReportersSome people say the turn of the century could bring the apocalypse -- planes will be falling from the sky, banks will lose track of whose money is whose, and the federal government will stop sending Social Security checks -- all because a couple of numbers weren't entered in computers.
And while such a doomsday vision may not become reality, the threat of computer-generated chaos come Jan. 1, 2000, has millions of people around the world scampering to avoid it. They include many of the local providers of services that coastal Sussex County residents take for granted -- electricity, medical care, banking and all that government does for citizens, for instance.
Rich Sargent, a computer software developer for Business Planning Services in Rehoboth Beach, said he does not believe the world will suffer the dire circumstances at the turn of the century that some people predict. "I'm not pulling my money from the bank and moving into the hills, but I'm not sure I'm going to be flying when the year 2000 hits," he said.
The problem originated with early computers' paltry memory banks, which led programmers to save space by recording years as only their last two digits. So, many computers, unless they have been reprogrammed, think the only years are those from 1900 to 1999.
While the rest of the world welcomes the year 2000, many computers will perceive the new year as 1900. If local companies and governments aren't as well-prepared as they say they are, the morning of Jan. 1, 2000 could bring residents an unhappy New Year's Day.
Rehoboth gets the bug out
Ask around at just about any local town hall or public utility and you'll hear that the potential problem has been addressed for months, maybe years -- if all the bugs aren't out of the office's computers, they surely will be by the end of 1999.
Sargent, who is also a Rehoboth Beach commissioner, said he helped start efforts to change the city's systems a couple of years ago to ensure that they would not shut down when 2000 arrives.
Dave Henderson, the computer systems administrator for the City of Rehoboth Beach, has been continuing those efforts. Henderson has been working at least one hour per week on the problem to ensure that when the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31, 1999, the city's systems -- such as water flow and emergency operations -- continue to operate as usual. In fact, Henderson plans to have all of the computer systems in line by 1999 just in case. "You're not going to have a problem with Rehoboth Beach," he said. "There will be no interruptions with our services. We'll be ready a year ahead of time."
Dewey Beach
In Dewey Beach, most of the computers and software are what computer linguists call "Y2K ready." Dewey Beach Town Manager Bill Rutherford said that the town hired a computer software developer in Dover to create its programs. "He has made sure the systems will handle the transition properly," Rutherford said.
Rutherford said there are only two computers that are not Y2K ready in Town Hall and the police department. He said the town will ultimately have to replace the computers anyway with new computers which come prepared for the turn of the century.
Lewes
The City of Lewes has hired a private software programmer to update city computers.
Don Bland, owner of Business Services Corp., said the city offices, police department and public works department will have no problem going into the year 2000.
"There should be no impact to their operations," Bland said. "It is a matter of a software change and database reorganization. The change is virtually invisible to the city but is quite noticeable to the computer."
Banks
As Sargent implied, some Year 2000 doomsayers are suggesting withdrawals from bank accounts before 2000 in case banking systems are shut down by computer problems. But local banks say customers will have no problem getting access to their funds in 2000, because they will have tested and upgraded the banks' computer systems by then.
Wilmington Trust has tried to put its customers' fears at ease by placing question-and-answer brochures in every office detailing its efforts to make sure services such as automatic teller machines continue to run smoothly as the next century begins.
Wilmington Trust, like other local banks, has already evaluated all of its computer systems, and plans to test the systems to make sure they operate without interruption. The bank hopes to have the process completed by Dec. 31, 1998.
Officials from Baltimore Trust, County Bank, PNC Bank, Delaware National, Delaware Trust, Mellon Bank, also said there are project teams in place to address the Y2K problem. Experts in the field of computer technology are working with the banks to ensure a smooth rollover into the year 2000.
Electric company prepares
Perhaps one of the most common predictions about Year 2000 mayhem is that the computer glitch will shut down electric power companies. Some doomsayers (and some people who just want to be prepared) have already bought generators in case this occurs.
But local electric companies say these fears are unfounded, as they have been upgrading their computers, and other computer-dependent equipment, to solve the problem.
Delmarva Power spokesman Michael Hoy said, "We have a group of specialists who have been working on the computers (so) there will be no problems with electric service during the new year."
Delaware Electric Cooperative Inc. officials are also working to make sure that its customers' lights will not go out as they celebrate New Year's Day 2000. "The year 2000 issue is not a problem that is going to miraculously go away," the company said in a recent announcement. "We are evaluating all of our information systems and identifying those that need to be modified or replaced."
The company is also testing systems such as line equipment, telephone systems and meters for Year 2000 problems, and is checking business partners such as banks, telephone companies, vendors, and other power suppliers to make sure they will not have Year 2000 problems that will affect the electric company.
Traffic signals
Delaware Department of Transportation officials are upgrading their computerized traffic signals to make sure there is not pandemonium on the roads come the Year 2000. According to DelDOT's community relations officer, the department is completing the upgrades as part of a larger project to create a traffic management center near Delaware City. The objective of the project is to be able to to monitor all of the state's traffic signal from one office.
Telephone
Bell Atlantic is spending between $200 and $300 million during 1998 and 1999 to ensure that "Jan. 1, 2000, is just like any other day," according to Ells Edwards, spokesman for Bell Atlantic's Network Services Department. According to Edwards, the company has been working on the problem since 1994 to make sure its network, and the networks of the other companies with which they work are Year 2000 compliant.
Edwards said Bell Atlantic expects to be Year 2000 compliant by July 1, 1999.
Cable TV
Couch potatoes will be relieved to know that Comcast Cable has already upgraded all of its computers sytems regarding television service. According to Tom Worley, director of Comcast's public relations department, the few remaining upgrades that still need to be completed are in the company's phone service and home heating and cooling service departments, and those upgrades should be done well before the next century.
Medical
Jim Bartell, vice president of with Beebe Medical Center's finance department, said that the hospital has divided Year 2000 concerns into three areas -- computer systems, biomedical equipment and general.
It has hired a medical equipment maintenance company to identify the status of each piece of equipment and make it Y2K-compatible, Bartell said.
He added that in most cases the computers are upgraded to a version of software that is Y2K-approved.
"In addition to that, anything that we have purchased in the last six months has had protective clauses in the contract that state the equipment is Y2K-compliant," Bartell said.
The hospital is working on a risk factor system for each piece of equipment in the hospital. The equipment that is used in patient care will receive top priority and those computers that are used for office functions would fall lower on the list, Bartell said.
"We are doing everything we can to give the community the assurance that we will be functional after the Year 2000," he said.