LEXINGTON - Rockbridge County Administrator Claire Collins explained the county turned over e-mail addresses of those who signed up for the county's "Rockbridge Alert" to VMI, after a verbal Freedom of Information Act request.
VMI sought the county's help to distribute a research project, a transportation survey designed by a professor and undergraduate student.
The e-mail survey alarmed some Rockbridge County residents.
It came from a google mail account (gmail), different from other Rockbridge Alert emails.
Some said they simply dismissed the e-mail as spam or a possible phishing scam.
Rockbridge County Emergency Services Coordinator Robert Foresman took the VMI request for help distributing the survey as a verbal Freedom of Information Act, providing a portion of e-mail addresses of those who signed up for the county's emergency alert system, Collins said.
"Since we have the e-mails that becomes public information," Collins said in an interview from her office on Thursday. "Based on the request, we had to release them."
Collins said she did have a few phone calls from concerned neighbors about the legitimacy of the e-mail.
VMI spokesman, Lt. Col. Stewart MacInnis, said the professor who requested the information had no idea he was requesting something involving the Freedom of Information Act.
The professor, Maj. Wakeel Ibewu, simply sought the county's help with the project, MacInnis said.
Collins said any request similar to Ibewu's is taken as a verbal Freedom of Information Act request.
Collins said, in future situations, she will make sure communication between the county and VMI is better, so as not to confuse those signed up for Rockbridge Alerts.
Ibewu said the survey is completely legit. He added in hindsight, he would've used a different survey system to element fears about it being a spam e-mail.
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