County honors 911 dispatchers

Friday, April 10, 2009
County Commissioners Kristina Warren, Gene Beck and Jim Baird signed a proclamation declaring April 12 through 18 as National Public Safety Telecommunicator's Week recently. Emergency Operations Center deputy director Shawn Little, evening shift supervisor and trainer Dara Robinson, night shift supervisor and quality assurance Becky Chadd and director Dave Costin look on.

The Putnam County Board of Commissioners recognized National Public Safety Telecommunications Week and is honoring The county's dispatchers during the week of April 12 through 18. This has been declared National Public Safety Telecommunications Week.

Celebrated annually, this week honors the thousands of men and women who respond to emergency calls, dispatch emergency professionals and equipment and render life-saving assistance to our nation's citizens.

Usually behind the scenes, dispatchers are the first ones in contact with people needing help. They are often overlooked as being essential in the rescue process. Yet they contribute greatly to the apprehension of criminals, suppression of fires and treatment of patients.

The staff at the Putnam County Emergency Operations Center processed over 24,000 emergency 911 calls last year and performed over 30,000 dispatches for responding agencies on those calls.

Dispatchers serve the police, fire, EMS, sheriff and highway patrol.

They command radio channels, monitor computers, talk people through all kinds of situations, remember everything and forget nothing.

The hours they work are long and the pay is not always great. They work long shifts and over holidays. They are expected to know what a police officer knows without the same training. They are law resources without the law degree.

In the proclamation signed by the commissioners they state, "The safety of our deputy sheriffs, police officers, firefighters and paramedics is dependent upon the quality and accuracy of information obtained from citizens who telephone central dispatch."

It goes on to say, "Dispatchers are the single vital link for our law enforcement officers, firefighters and paramedics by monitoring their activities by radio, providing them information and insuring their safety."

The proclamation ends "in honoring the men and women whose diligence and professionalism keep our county and citizens safe."

Comments
View 4 comments
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
  • Glad to see they're recognized. They do a great job!!! Keep up the good work.

    -- Posted by what_it's_worth on Fri, Apr 10, 2009, at 6:42 AM
  • ?? I could be wrong but - isn't 'his' name Shawn? Not sharon?

    -- Posted by BGreader on Fri, Apr 10, 2009, at 7:31 AM
  • It could be better.

    -- Posted by magoo55 on Mon, Apr 13, 2009, at 9:28 AM
  • Glad to see they are recognized, too! Thanks for all you do for Putnam Co.! :)

    -- Posted by John3:16 on Fri, Apr 17, 2009, at 6:10 AM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: