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2017, Page 2

I Know My True North

I know my true North. We all have our own. The moral compass inside where our integrity pulls the needle to your true North. I have been a Dispatcher (no, I am not offended to …

Thunderbird Down

On June 2, 2016 the U.S. Air Force Academy was hosting the U.S. President for the 2016 commencement exercise and the Air Force Thunderbirds were in town for their flyover of the graduation ceremony. Beginning …

Two Year Old Having a Seizure

I was working day shift on Thursday August 4, 2016 at the Call Taker position for the Wood County Central Communications Center aka Wood County E911. I took a 911 call of a 2 year …

Suicidal Victim Gets Help

On December 20, 2016 at 10:15 a.m., Dispatcher Catie Guzman was on duty in the Communications Center for the University at Buffalo Police. The semester had just ended at UB and most of the students …

Guardian of the County

I have had the pleasure of being a 911 dispatcher for police, fire and rescue for a little over ten years. I have taken more calls then I could even begin to count; some good, …

More Than Just a “Paycheck Job”

In May of 2012, I started my career as a 911 Telecommunicator. When I walked into the police department on the morning of May 1st, I never knew how my life was going to change. …

The Communications Family

What means the most to me about being a Telecommunicator? I have thought and pondered this question since it was first posted, and every time I try to formulate an answer I keep changing my …

That’s What We Do

I have been working for our agency for 28 years. I started part time and worked my way to Director in 6 years. We are a very small county, everyone knows everyone else so almost …

Something More

September 11 2001, I sat and watched as our world changed as well as my view of the world, the blinders were off. The naïve idea that I was in control of my life and …

Baby not Breathing

It was 0715 on my last night shift right before I was getting off at 0730 of my last shift for 4 days. 911 line rang and I answer to hear a mother that told …

That Moment…

January 5, 2016, started out like any other day shift. Day was busy with calls coming in asking for every division within the department except for Dispatch. Detectives were running in and out of the …

Code Blue

I talked to you while you were home alone having a heart attack and couldn’t breathe. You quit talking to me before the paramedics arrived. I stayed on the line in case you had just …

Goodbye my friend

I was on duty when a call came in from a tower that was not in our jurisdiction. I answered the phone and a male said he wanted to report someone dead in their vehicle. …

Saving a Life

This occurred more than a decade ago. I received a call from a frightened, distraught woman. She purchased a pair of shoes that he husband disapproved of, either because she was not allowed to spend …

Keep Going

My name is Melissa and I am proud to say that I have served in Public Safety for 22 years. Some good times and some very hard times. Comparing the present to the past there …

The Dispatcher’s Burden

I started my career as a 911 dispatcher my freshman year of college in 2010. At the time it was just a way for me to make a living but turned into more than I …

My Communications Officers Are Amazing People

I have been a communications officer for almost 12 years. I began at a local sheriff’s office and then transferred over to the State Patrol in 2007. I was promoted in 2014 to Communications Supervisor. …

Just Today

So many of the stories over the years you think you will remember, just seem to blend into each other because what we do is just a day at work. We only dispatch LE so …

I Just Like Your Voice

It was a mid-December evening, around dinner time, when I answered a 911 call. Never knowing what’s going to be on the other end of the line when answering can be stressful at times – …